Naruto Reloaded
by Xzenith
Summary: Post time skip. Naruto returns with new abilities only to be thrust into a world of exams, war, and battle. Eventual NaruxIno. First few chapters suck, but give it a chance.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't Own Naruto.

**Prologue**

White.

That was the first thought to flow through his mind upon opening his eyes. The idea wasn't completely unfounded. White wall, white ceiling, even the fluorescent bulbs were a blinding white.

Despite his current state, it didn't take the boy long to wrap his mind around where he was - the Konoha hospital. When you're the single most hated existence within 100 miles, not to mention a defenseless child, the hospital becomes practically a second home.

What his foggy mind, Naruto could not figure out was how he got there, nor why. In a rush, it came flooding back to him…

**RASENGAN!**

_**CHIDORI!**_

Even channeling that much of Kyubi's chakra, Naruto maintained some control over both his actions and emotions. Enough, at least, that he recognized that he could never truly kill Sasuke, the teammate and friend he loved like a brother. All throughout his fight with Sasuke, he was pulling his punches. Every time their trump attacks met, he lowered the power he fed to the rasengan so that the attacks merely cancelled-their battle on the hospital rooftop proved the difference between the strength of the attacks.

However, in that last charge, between Orochimaru's cursed seal, the sharingan, and his own natural agility, Sasuke managed to prevent the attacks from colliding-apparently counting on his superior reach protecting him from Naruto's rasengan. In fact, it was only Naruto's last ditch movement that saved Sasuke from having his insides turned into liquid. The end result was merely a scratch on his forehead protector.

Unfortunately for Naruto, Sasuke had no such qualms about completing his attack, driving his arm completely through the boy's chest.

Before he could attempt to piece together what occurred between then and his arrival at his present location a shout of "He's awake! Get Shizune and inform the Hokage!" interrupted his thoughts. Turning his head ever so slightly, he managed to see something that was certainly different from his previous trips to the hospital-there were people there, waiting for him to wake up.

He managed to make out the faces of Hinata, Sakura, Gaara, and his siblings before the door to his room burst open and the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade and her apprentice, Shizune, were standing over him checking his vitals.

"Vitals looks strong. Naruto, how do you feel? Are you feeling any pain?" asked the concerned Hokage.

He moved his mouth, but no words actually came out, his throat dry from prolonged disuse. In seconds, Shizune had a cold glass of water to his lips and he relished the cool water soothing his throat and washing away the lingering copper taste of blood that persisted even after all this time…For that matter, how long had it been? Trying again, he managed to rasp out "I feel fine Baa-san, just tired. How long was I out?"

A vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead at the nickname, but Shizune calmly stepped between the two before the slug Sannin could kill her patient. "You've been out for nearly a week Naruto-kun."

A week?! That actually terrified Naruto. The one benefit he'd found up until this point in his life of being the container for the most powerful of the Biju was that it provided him amazing recovery ability-he could normally bounce back from anything after only a few hours. Hell, even when he was a kid and villagers and shinobi alike decided that his continued existence was an insult to their village and something they took into their own hands to correct (the worst of which was normally on the anniversary of Kyuubi's defeat at the hands of the Yondaime Hokage), he was always released from the hospital within 24 hours.

Just how close to death had he been?...

"What happened? How'd I get here? Are the others ok?" he asked in quick succession as his eyelids drooped and he quickly felt his strength leaving him.

Seeing his exhausted state, Tsunade simply replied "They're all fine, you just rest now." Sighing in relief, Naruto closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

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There was a reason that Naruto was out for so long. In addition to the life-threatening wounds he'd received, while not a lie, it was a gross exaggeration on the Hokage's part that everyone was fine. "The others" as Naruto referred to them, was referring to the Konoha Gennin sent on the mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and return him safely to Konoha. At face value, it sounded simple, but the mission ended up being anything but. Sasuke, it turned out was being accompanied by the Sound Four, Orochimaru's elite guard. While individually the members weren't spectacular shinobi, each had been graced with Orochimaru's curse seal level 2, which provided them with a massive boost in strength and chakra-enough that the four of them were able to defeat two Jounin without sustaining any apparent wounds. Just to add icing to the cake, when the mission dragged out longer than expected, Kabuto sent Kaguya Kimmimaro, arguably sounds strongest ninja (Orochimaru excluded) despite his failing body.

Miraculously, the mission ended without any casualties on Konoha's part. However, three of the Gennin remain in stable condition, but not out of danger yet.

Akimichi Chouji used all three of the Akimichi pills, which granted him the strength to defeat his opponent, but had the unfortunate side effect of causing such fast metabolism that the body literally began to break down. It was only thanks to Tsunade's status as the world's greatest medic that managed to halt the affects. Even so, Chouji's body remained terribly weak and would take some time to reverse the damage.

Hyuuga Neji got speared clean through by an arrow by the six-armed Kidomaru. Thanks to his byakugan, he managed to dodge just enough to prevent a killing blow, but the wound was dangerously close to his heart and he had nearly bled out by the time ANBU managed to get him to safety. It took a whole team of medics and a complex healing seal to repair the damage, although the boy had yet to wake up.

Inuzuka Kiba's only major damage was a deep kuani wound in his abdomen, from which he was rapidly losing blood. Ironically, this was self-inflicted despite his opponent far outclassing him. His wound had been healed, but the boy remained bedridden as any excessive movement could cause the wound to begin to bleed internally again.

By the time Hatake Kakashi managed to carry Naruto back from the valley of the end, the majority of the medic nins Konoha employed, along with the Hokage and Shizune themselves were exhausted mentally and physically, and had nearly exhausted their chakra. In truth, despite the boy's unnatural healing, it was truly a miracle that he survived, the Hokage having just enough chakra to augment Kyuubi's natural healing ability to get him out of the danger zone. After that it was entirely up to the fox to repair Naruto's battered body.

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The next time Naruto awoke, he was feeling much better: rested and recovered. In fact, he felt he was back to 100 percent. Chancing a glance to his right where the group of people had been the last time he was cognizant, he was both elated, and disappointed. While his disappointment stemmed from the fact that a group no longer resided there, he was grateful to see that one had remained. Looking closer, he was surprised to see who it was: Yamanaka Ino lay curled up in a chair, fast asleep in the far corner of the room. The girl who always took such pride in her appearance looked like a complete mess. It was clear that she hadn't showered or groomed herself in several day and she had dark circles under her eyes.

Like any good ninja, when Naruto attempted to sit up, the movement alerted Ino and her blue eyes snapped open to stare into Naruto's own. After taking about a tenth of a second to recognize what was going on, she launched herself out of the chair to get the nurse. Returning not a minute later with Shizune in tow, Ino hung back while Shizune checked Naruto over and announced him as having a clean bill of health, but absolutely forbade him from getting out of bed until at least the next morning. Giving a nod to Ino, she left to finish her duties.

Once she was gone, Ino looked up and asked, "Are you really alright?"

"Yeah, I feel fine." Noticing through the window that it was now dark he asked "What time is it anyways?"

"It's a little after midnight I believe."

"Ah. Er…Ino? Not that I don't appreciate the company, but…what're you doing here so late?"

"Well, if you recall, several of us were here when you woke up earlier. All of the rookie nine, team Gai, and Gaara's team have actually been camping out at the hospital waiting for you and the others to wake up. Well, once you did, Tsunade-sama hurried us all out of the room saying that you needed your rest and the commotion wouldn't be good. She did allow you to have one visitor at a time though, so here we are."

Choosing his words carefully, Naruto continued "That makes sense I guess, but why are _you_ here. I mean, we've never been what anyone could consider close. I guess I just would've expected Sakura-chan or Kakashi-sensei or someone."

"Oh, well, Sakura was in here. She was the first person that the Hokage allowed to stay, but I relieved her about two hours ago. As I'm sure you can guess, she's had an emotional time for the last week, she hadn't left this room and has hardly slept at all. Heck, she was admitted for a day when the lack of sleep caught up with her. The Hokage had me send her home to get some rest." Ino chewed her lip for a moment before continuing. "I…I was the one who was here when Kakashi brought you in. You…I could barely even recognize you, your hair was dyed red from the blood." She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I…I guess I just needed to assure myself that you really were okay." She paused. "What actually happened to you?"

Naruto sighed and look down. "What do you know about the mission?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Over the next hour, Ino summarized everything she learned from Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, the sand siblings, Kakashi, the hospital staff, and even the random ANBU who brought in the injured. It was impossible to know all of the details of what had occurred as two of the participants were still unconscious, but based on the damage to the areas, Kakashi and the ANBU were able to gleam a general idea of what had occurred.

Though he was upset to hear of the condition that Neji, Kiba, and Chouji found themselves, Naruto silently thanked the gods that they would pull through. His thoughts came crashing back to the conversation at hand when Ino asked "Did Sasuke really go to Orochimaru by his own free will?"

A low growl escaped Naruto's throat. It was only Naruto's mind wrapping around the word 'Sasuke' that kept Naruto from exploding at Ino. As one of the founding members of the Uchiha's fanclub, Ino had never referred to the brooding avenger without the '-kun' suffix as long as he'd known her. Naruto was so shocked with this that it held his anger below the breaking point. It was truly amazing how betrayal can change a person's view on another.

Through gritted teeth he replied, "Sasuke didn't just choose to desert Konoha…he was an active participant in his escape. As your account of the mission suggested, by the time I caught up Sasuke at the Valley of the End, he was traveling alone. You saw the condition I was in when I was brought back in. Use your mind to fill in the blanks….When I confronted him directly, he attacked me with lethal force, even going as far as to shove our _teacher's_ prized assassination technique through my chest and leave me for dead." Even without raising his voice, his pain and anger were clear.

Anger deflated, Naruto turned away from her, fully intending to ignore the blond. Unnoticed by Naruto, his words cut through Ino like physical blows. As pitiful as she looked before, she shrank even further into herself with Naruto's pronouncement. A prolonged, uncomfortable silence ensued only broken when Ino suddenly broke down and began to cry.

Not being a heartless bastard, Naruto couldn't just ignore her in such a state. Turning back, he asked "Hey, are you alright?"

Shaking her head slightly, she murmured something so quietly that even straining to hear Naruto was unable to pick up. "I didn't catch that, what?" he asked gently. Not having practice consoling girls, Naruto was completely at a loss as to what to do.

"What am I supposed to do now? Sasuke was the whole reason that I became a shinobi. I thought it would give me a chance to get closer to him and get him to like me. But, just look at me! I'm nothing! Even in comparison to the other rookie Gennin. I was not prepared for the Chuunin exam, but reasoned with myself that if I was ever in trouble, he would come save me. Hell, I welcomed that notion. Had I been sent on the retrieval mission, I would have been killed in seconds."

"Listen Ino," Naruto spoke softly "doing anything with your life for someone else and not for yourself is just asking to be miserable. Entering a profession as dangerous as being a shinobi is just suicidal if you're not serious about it. You really need to take a hard look at your life and decide if this is something you really want to do. If it is, get back out there and take it seriously-Apply yourself in your training, expand your skills, learn your strengths and embrace them, learn your weaknesses and minimize them. If this life isn't what you want, get out now before you pointlessly get yourself killed.

Pondering what he had said, Ino nodded, surprised to hear something so profound from the normally hyperactive, goofy blond. She had a lot of soul searching in front of her, but Naruto's speech actually did make her feel better.

"Hey Gaki."

The voice surprised the two, neither had sensed anyone approaching. Fortunately, he was not an enemy, as Ino was in no shape to move at the moment. Turning towards the window and the source, they found a man leaning against the frame with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

"Ero-Sannin!" Naruto called out with the first hint of his former enthusiasm.

Ignoring the hated nickname, he opened his eyes and smiled "Good to see you're doing alright." His face grew serious. "I just spoke with the Hokage. Our spies tell us that neither Akatsuki nor Orochimaru will be able to continue their plans for at least three years. I'm taking it upon myself to ensure that you're ready when their threat presents itself again. Get up and get your things, we have to leave immediately for an extended training mission. The Hokage has agreed, you are now officially my apprentice."

Nodding, Naruto pulled himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom to change out of his hospital gown.

Turning to Ino, Jiraiya said "You really should head that advice, I couldn't have said it better myself. The life of a ninja is tough, you'll have to deal with death of all kinds: your enemies and your friends. If you're not prepared for it, you're just going to die young." Acknowledging his words, Ino nodded but remained silent.

When Naruto emerged from the bathroom in his trademark orange jumpsuit, Jiraiya glanced at him and said "Get anything you may need and meet me at the front gate as soon as possible." Seeing Naruto's nod, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Stepping through the open window, Naruto addressed Ino one last time. "Tell everyone goodbye for me. When I come back I'll be a lot stronger. And…good luck, with whatever you decide to do." With that, he pushed off and was gone.

* * *

A/N: Having gotten fed up with the actual manga, I decided to try my own hand here. This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so I welcome any criticism. I know this chapter is relatively standard, but trust me, I've got some big plans for this story. Bare with me for a few chapters until I'm able to get through necessary setup that's mostly in-cannon.

Jutsu Library:

**Rasengan**-Spiral sphere

**Chidori**-Thousand birds


	2. Chapter 1: Return

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 1**

Two figures stood on top of the Hokage monument looking over the village of Konoha.

"Ah, it's good to be home." It had been three years, three long, wonderful years since he'd last seen his home. Sure, when he last left he was hated by the vast majority of its inhabitants, but Konoha held something that would always bring him back, the people precious to him.

Long golden hair obscured his angular face as he looked down upon the village. No longer the boy he was when he left, Naruto had shot up in height (thanks to Jiraiya forcing him to break his nothing-but-ramen diet), had lost his baby fat, and displayed toned muscles under his new attire. Early into the trip, Jiraiya had forced him to lose the kill-me orange jumpsuit that Naruto had worn as long as he remembered. Dressed for practicality, Naruto now wore simple black shinobi pants (not too loose as to inhibit movement), a tight black shirt under a mostly black flak jacket with the kanji for 'crimson fox' in red on the back. In order to honor the one vendor to sell him clothes when he was a child, the vest contained stripes of orange on the shoulders. To complete the ensemble were a pair of shinobi sandals and fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back.

Smiling at his protégé, Jiraiya told him "I know you want to go and find your friends and head to Ichiraku, but you had best go see Tsunade first. I've put a lot of work into you, it'd be a shame if she killed you now for not seeing her immediately."

With a laugh, Naruto merely waved him off. "Of course Ero-sannin. Besides, Tsunade-baasan is on the top of my list. Let's do this!" With that, Naruto proceeded to jump off the monument and free-fall to the ground.

After three years with Naruto this didn't give the old toad hermit a heart attack, instead he just chuckled and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Moments from the ground, the wind began to swirl around Naruto, slowing his decent until he landed lightly on the ground. Surprised by the sudden appearance, the gate guards were instantly on guard staring at the newcomer with weapons raised.

"Don't bother, he'll crush you" came a voice from behind them. Spinning to face the new threat, brought Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu face-to-face with none other than Jiraiya of the sannin. Being that each of them had been promoted to Jounin in Jiraya's absence, to be snuck up on like this meant the person really was a shinobi of Jiraiya's caliber

"Jiraiya-sama!" Exclaimed Kotetsu. "It's been a long time. What brings you back to Konoha?"

"Mission complete."

"Then, that's…" Izumo trailed off.

"Uzumaki Naruto" says the blond, lifting his head and revealing his startlingly blue eyes, large grin, and the trio of whisker marks on each cheek.

Shocked into silence at the changes that had come to the blond since they last saw him in the Chuunin exams, the two guards could only stare back and forth between Naruto and the visage carved into the mountain behind him. Having grown up and grown out his hair, Naruto now looked far too much like the Yondaime Hokage to be ignored.

"We're off to meet with Tsunade, care to let us through?" Jiraiya asked when the silence stretched on longer than he could stand.

"Of…of course sir!" responded Izumo, immediately signaling for the gates to open and allow them entrance.

The moment they were opened wide enough, Jiraiya added "Don't bother informing the Fifth that we're here, we're on our way to surprise her now." And with that, the two vanished in a swirl of leaves.

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The slug Sannin quirked an eyebrow, trying to gleam any information on the state of her opponent. Sure, she was well known throughout the continents as the Legendary Sucker, but even she had never been beaten so consistently by a single opponent. Her opponent simply sat there, unmoving, not divulging any secrets in how she could best them. With a resigned sigh, Tsunade gave into the undeniable fact that she would never best her most hated opponent. Even so, as Hokage of the leaf, she had no choice but to endure. Lifting a pen, she continued with her paperwork.

"Hey Baa-san!" came a voice right in her ear.

The suddenness of the unexpected greeting caused the busty woman to jump so high that the paper work went flying everywhere. Turning to face the intruder, she found herself face-to-face with her surrogate little brother.

Unable to control the grin that sprung up on her face, she enveloped him in a hug. That was of course, before his greeting caught up with her and she promptly threw him _through_ the door. "What have I told you about calling me that?!" she yelled to his sprawled out body…that was until it puffed away into smoke.

"You were right Ero-sannin, it's much funnier when you're watching than when you're the one it's happening to."

Turning around, Tsunade found Naruto lounging in her chair with his feet up on the desk and the perverted hermit standing next to him, still laughing at the scene that had just unfolded before them. Not a moment latter, both had giant bruises on their heads courtesy of the fists that Tsunade had swatted each of them with moments before.

"Geez Baa-san, lighten up, is that how you greet us after three years!"

Deciding to ignore the hated nickname just this once, Tsunade once again embraced Naruto (pinching him this time to ensure it wasn't a kage bushin). Stepping back to really look at him, she couldn't help but smile at the man he had become. "You look just like your father! You're going to be beating the girls off with a stick!"

Jiraiya had told Naruto of his heritage during the last year of their training trip. He had actually not known for sure until Tsunade had found a confidential file of the late Hokage Sarutobi over a year after she took the job. Initially Naruto was beyond mad having found out that such an important aspect of his life was kept from him, but was eventually calmed by Jiraiya's explanation of how his father had ordered it kept from him until he was able to protect himself, for he had acquired many enemies during his relatively short life. It was this revelation that sparked Naruto into intentionally growing out his hair as a tribute to his deceased family.

Blushing, Naruto put his hand behind his head. "Thanks Baa-san, that means a lot."

With a light smile, Tsunade dismissed him with "Thank you for coming to see me, it's great to see you again, but I can get Jiraiya here to give his report on your training. You go on ahead and find your friends and get something to eat. Your apartment is still yours, go get settled back in and come see me tomorrow morning at 8 am sharp."

With a smile Naruto gave her another hug before jumping out the window and free falling to the earth below. Now, Tsunade, who had _not_ spent the last three years with Naruto panicked at seeing him plummet out of sight. Rushing to the window, she had just enough time to see him land lightly in his feet and begin strolling away in search of his friends.

Turning around to find a once again hysterical Jiraiya all humor disappeared from her face. "It seems to me like you have a lot to report…"

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Naruto made it all of about six steps before he ran into one person he was both excited and dreading to see. Haruno Sakura, former member of Team 7 and current apprentice of the Godaime Hokage, was just outside of the Hokage tower on her way to meet her mentor when a blond man landed seemingly from nowhere directly in front of her. Ironically, this wasn't his intention at all, it was purely coincidental. Though he was actually looking to her left, she couldn't mistake those whisker marks for anyone else.

"Naruto?!"

Turning to face the voice who called his name, he was shocked to find none other than his pink-haired former teammate. "Eh? Sakura-chan?!"

Doing a quick run over with her eyes, Sakura couldn't help but notice the changes in Naruto. "You look great Naruto! When'd you get back?"

"Just a little while ago, just finished meeting with Tsunade-baasan."

"Show Tsunade-sama the proper respect! She is both the Hokage and one of the Sannin!" defended Sakura, her temper beginning to rise to the surface. "What about me, how do I look? Do I look more like a woman now?"

"You look fine. You haven't changed at all!"

Once again, the wrong thing to say as a vein could now be seen on Sakura's forehead.

'_Heh, bro is so brave…Sakura-san's terrifying when you piss her off'_ thought Konohamaru."Naruto-niisan!" he called out causing the pair to turn. Before either could recognize him, Konohamaru added "**Oiroke no jutsu**" and in a puff of smoke stood a busty brunet bent in a sexy pose wearing absolutely nothing, other than tiny wisps of smock covering her more sensitive areas. Blood rained the nearby area as passing men fell prey to Naruto's original jutsu. With another puff of smoke, Konohamaru was revealed three years older than Naruto had last seen him, but otherwise still relatively the same. Same basic attire, and same goggles adorning his forehead. "How was that?! A real drool of a jutsu, wasn't it?!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Hehehe…" Naruto began with a smile. Then, his face became serious. "Konohamaru, I'm sorry, but I'm not a kid anymore. We're both ninjas now, you shouldn't use that jutsu anymore."

'_So, Naruto hasn't just matured in appearance…This makes me feel a little sad. You truly have become something Naruto. I'm sure you've come back with a lot of great jutsu too, right?_' thought Sakura, shocked by Naruto's apparent maturity.

Suddenly, a burning passion appeared in Naruto's face. "Such a jutsu is now mediocre Konohamaru! Behold! The new perverted ninjutsu I've been developing!! Here we GOOO!" he shouted for all to hear.

"Ah, a new ninjutsu you say, a new perv…" at this point Sakura's brain caught up to her words. "PERVERTED NINJUTSU?! YOU IDIOT!!!!" she yelled as she decked him across the face. Now remember, Sakura has been training under Tsunade for the better part of three years, meaning she has learned the slug sannin's freakish strength. Unlike all the 'love taps' Naruto received from Sakura when they were still team 7, this time Naruto made a small crater in the ground from the force of the blow. Not feeling any remorse, or even giving the blond a chance to recover, Sakura picked him up by his jacket and continued. "I was wrong! You haven't changed one bit! I haven't seen you in three years and within two minutes you just straight into that! Idiot!!" she screamed at him. "What about that wonderful feeling of respect I had for you just now?! As if I could feel sad that I wasn't grown up like you."

"Hey, Sakura-chan, calm down…Konohamaru here's terrified." Interjected a new voice.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called out the pleasantly surprised greeting. All of the playfulness (as well as bruises) disappeared from Naruto's face as he greeted his former teacher in a terse tone.

"Er, you've grown a lot, haven't you, Naruto." Kakashi continued, shocked by the cold greeting.

"Your powers of observation have clearly improved while I was gone."

"Naruto, why are you being like this?" asked a shocked Sakura.

"It's a long story Sakura-chan, I don't really feel like going into it right now. What do you want Kakashi-sensei."

"I heard you were back and, for old time's sake, I'm a bit curious to how you've developed." said Kakashi pulling out two bells. "Meet me at training ground 3, the rules are the same as the first time I met you." With that, the three disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

A/N: Nothing particularly new in this chapter, but next chapter will begin the divergence from the cannon storyline. Next time: Naruto vs. Kakashi.

Jutsu Library:

**Oiroke no Jutsu**-Sexy Technique


	3. Chapter 2: Bell Test

Diclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Chapter 2**

"Training ground 3…it's been a long time since I've been here." said Naruto in a nostalgic voice.

"Not since team 7…" Sakura thought aloud.

"That time, Sasuke was around too, wasn't he?" added Kakashi. He was shocked to see the drastically different reactions from his two students. Sakura looked crestfallen at the mention of her old crush and teammate while Naruto began leaking killer intent in Kakashi's direction. "Well then, shall we begin? You have until dawn tomorrow to get the bells. As before, come at me with the intent to kill if you want to have a chance at getting the bells."

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"I suppose I should start at the beginning…"

"I think I need a drink." Getting a flask of sake from her secret stash in the office, she poured two drinks. "Ok, I don't need the whole story, I've gathered most of what you I need your honest impression of Naruto's skills."

"To be honest with you, Naruto surpassed my every expectation right from the get go."

-----Flashback-----

"_So, just where are we going Ero-Sannin?"_

"_We'll be traveling to various places."_

"_That's great! I've hardly ever been outside of Konoha. Well then, what am I going to be learning? Lots of cool new jutsu?!"_

"_Listen up Gaki, now that you're officially my apprentice, I'm going to be doing everything I can to turn you into a powerful shinobi. However, what makes a good shinobi is not the number of jutsus you know. No, a good ninja is a master of the jutsu that he does know and is able to use them to their maximal effectiveness, but most of all, they know their weaknesses and limits. What that means for your training is that I will not teach you anything new until you have mastered what you have already learned in both understanding and application."_

"_But Ero-Sannin!" Naruto whined._

"_No buts Naruto, if you want to be able to survive what's to come, let alone reach your goal of Hokage, you need to listen to me. Now, take some time and think about what you know. I don't want to hear anything from you for an hour, but then I want you to tell me your strengths, weaknesses, and current jutsu library. Be sure to mention if you think you've mastered any of them."_

_For one of the few times ever, Naruto actually took what the old pervert said to heart and began to think on his fighting style and abilities. Jiraiya was both surprised and glad to see his student actually taking his assignment seriously. Even once the hour passed, he didn't interrupt Naruto's thoughts and merely kept walking. Finally, Naruto looked up and asked "Are you ready for my answer?"_

_Nodding, Jiraiya was actually surprised that he was actually eager to hear his answer._

"_Well, as much as it pains me to say it, I think the only things I excel at at this point in time are my chakra capacity, general determination, and the resilience and power granted by the fox."_

_Jiraiya was actually shocked by this answer. Despite the boy's concentration on the project, Jiraiya truly expected the boy to greatly overstate his strengths. The assessment Naruto provided was both surprisingly accurate-it was much the same as Jiraiya was planning to tell the boy himself-and profoundly mature._

"_Thinking back on my previous fights and fights I've seen," Naruto continued, " Most of my skills are subpar, even in comparison to my peers. My taijutsu is spotty at best as I have no real form and even if it were, even with an infinite number of clones, I wouldn't stand a chance against Lee's insane speed. I have virtually no talent for genjutsu, my chakra control is at best average having learned the water walking, and the only ninjutsu I've mastered, or for that matter learned, are kawarimi, henge, kage bushin, kyuchusi, and rasengan."_

_Jiraiya stopped walking and grinned. Oh yes, this was a boy he could come to like. There were very few people able to look that critically at themselves. Of course, he did seem to be under the impression that he'd mastered his ninjutsu. Oh yes, this was certainly a notion he had to address…_

-----End Flashback-----

"Sure it took four months and painstakingly slow progress in basic jutsu that an academy student ought to know…but I did manage to get my point across about the benefits of mastering jutsu once he finally learned the trick about kage bushin being able to speed up his training. As it turns out, thanks to the Kyuubi, Naruto can handle a virtual infinite amount of mental strain from the clones dispelling."

"How the hell did you lean that?!" interjected Tsunade in alarm.

"Yeah…um… about that…moving on…." evaded Jiraiya pouring another drink.

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Without any additional warning, Naruto flashed through hand seals at a blinding pace. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**" he called.

Not to be outdone, Kakashi immediately recognized the jutsu and proved why he was a Jounin by finished his own jutsu less than a half a second behind. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.**"

As the two jutsu obscured the vision of both shinobi and battled for dominance, Naruto smirked and thought '_**Futon:**__**Oxygenate no Jutsu**_' separating the component of the air and pumping pure oxygen into his jutsu. His side of the fireball increased in side threefold and immediately overtook Kakashi's incinerating the field where he was standing.

Without waiting to see the result or turning to look for Kakashi's whereabouts, Naruto immediately brought his hands together and softly said "**Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu**." A dense fog immediately encompassed most of the field leaving Sakura attempting to see through the wall of fog in front of her. Before she could even move, lightning crackled through the fog, amplified by water particles. An anguished scream could be heard from within before a gust of wind blew the fog away.

In the middle of the field stood Naruto who hadn't even moved from where he began and not 10 feet away lay a smoldering Kakashi. With a frown on his face, Naruto watched as the Kakashi cracked and disintegrated. 'T_shuchi bushin_' he thought to himself.

Sakura looked around '_Left…Right…Behind…Above. If he's not anywhere, then…'  
_"BELOW!" Rearing back her fist, Sakura struck the ground and unlike most, the ground crumbled beneath her hand and exploded outwards revealing a cowering Kakashi.

'_What is that insane strength? The Fifth didn't just teach you medical ninjutsu I see…'_ thought Kakashi.

"Heh, found you. Lesson 1: Ninjutsu, complete." Sakura boasted.

"Sakura-chan, do me a favor, stay out of this. I have a score to settle with Kakashi-sensei." Without waiting to even hear her response, he immediately charged Kakashi's position.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Once Jiraiya regained consciousness, he continued. "Okay, I deserved that, we got lucky in that instance. After that the boy sucked up ninjutsu like a sponge. Sure, he may not have the jutsu library that Sarutobi, Kakashi, and myself have, but he knows plenty and is very crafty with those that he knows. Besides, his ninjutsu isn't the strongest aspect of his abilities, that's his taijutsu…"

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kakashi had seen a lot of things in his time as a Jounin, but even he was unprepared for the taijutsu Naruto brought. Midway to his position, Naruto simply disappeared. Well, at least he would have had Kakashi been a lesser Jounin without his years of experience.

Jumping backwards, Kakashi dodged the kick Naruto aimed at him. Following through, Naruto performed a back kick with his other leg and called out "**Rankyaku**." An arc of pure chakra erupted from his leg shooting out towards Kakashi's position. Ducking low, Kakashi allowed the beam sail over his head and obliterated the tree behind him. Tossing shuriken at Naruto, Kakashi was prepared to rush ahead when this time, Naruto really did disappear with a quiet "**Soru**." Before he could blink, Naruto appeared next to him and placed his hand gently on Kakashi's stomach. "**Impact**." he whispered in Kakashi's ear. With the sound of an explosion, Kakashi sailed backwards several feet, coughed up blood, and collapsed to his knees.

"What…what was that?" he asked pulling himself back to his feet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

"He created his own taijutsu style and techniques?! In just three years?!" Tsunade exclaimed shocked by this development.

"Yeah, that he did, took him almost 10 years of time with the clones. However, it's incredibly effective and lethal, though only he can use it to its full effect. The Yondaime was a genius at fuinjutsu. I mean, I taught him everything I knew, but it still took me the better part of two years to fully analyze the seal on Naruto. I won't get into all the specifics, but the biggest attributes to note are: beyond its obvious containment, the seal prevents Kyuubi from being able to influence Naruto directly. However, the more of the Kyuubi's chakra he draws upon, the more primal his instincts get. Most importantly, however, the seal has provided him with some of the Kyuubi's attributes such as the rapid healing which has improved more and more over time even when he's not using kyuubi's chakra as well as its elemental affinities. As it turns out, the Kyuubi had affinity to both wind and lightning. Naruto's own natural affinity is wind and the two augmented each other giving him an unprecedented control over wind, which he manipulates into his taijustsu to devastating effect. "

Taking a moment to process that information, Tsunade asked the question she really wanted to know. "At this point in time, how strong is Naruto?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kakashi was in pain. The 'gentle' hit that Naruto had dealt him was like nothing he had ever felt. It wasn't the crushing power of Gai's Gouken, nor was it chakra-based attack at his internal organs like the Hyuuga's Jyuuken. However, the damage it did reminded him of the Jyuuken, but with the force of one of Gai's strikes.

"Those were three of the attacks from my personal taijutsu style, Rokushiki." Responded Naruto coolly. "Go ahead and uncover your trump card, I simply won't allow you to view any techniques you can copy."

Kakashi chuckled. He had sorely underestimated his opponent. Granting his student's wish, he raised his headband to reveal his sharingan eye. "Very well Naruto, let's see just how far you've come." said Kakashi casting '_**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**_' when he caught Naruto's eye.

In an explosion of red, Naruto effortlessly threw off the jutsu and achieved the impossible: he disappeared from even Kakashi's sharingan.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

"That's hard to say. Without Kyuubi's chakra, I would estimate him to be at probably tokubetsu Jounin. With it, I've never seen him go all out, but he's likely stronger than me."

"Hokage-sama!!" shouted a Chuunin running into the room. There's an emergency, Hatake Kakashi is currently in battle against an unknown opponent at training ground three. Several people are converging on the location now, but I felt it best to notify you first.

Jiraiya was immediately on his feet. "That's not good, we have to stop this fight now. If Kakashi's fighting Naruto as I expect, you're about to be out one of your top shinobi, or at the very least, your medical services are going to be required." With that, he went to the window and jumped out onto a nearby rooftop and ran in the direction of the aforementioned training ground with Tsunade right behind him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

At this point, Kakashi was scared. Naruto was like a maelstrom of hands and feet even when his sharingan was able to predict a strike, his body just couldn't keep up with the unbelievable speed his opponent was showing. Each hit that Naruto landed felt just like the first, an explosion of internal damage. Honestly, he didn't know how much longer his body would be able to stand up against such an onslaught.

Using a kawarimi to buy himself a moment reprieve, Kakashi was immediately met by a Rankyaku sent to his new location. Avoiding with yet another kawarimi, Kakashi was surprised when this time, Naruto didn't pursue him. Looking to the blond, he found Jiraiya and Tsunade standing between him and the young man.

"It looks like our play time is over Kakashi-_sensei_" Naruto practically spat the honorific while indicating the Sannin and approaching chakra signatures of several Konoha shinobi. "Thanks Sakura-chan, I needed that." he smiled tossing her a bell that Kakashi hadn't even realized he'd been relieved of.

With a nod to Jiraiya, Naruto disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

A/N: First bit of action for you. Despite how one sided this fight may have looked, Naruto is not unbeatable at this point. For those of you able to identify the Rokushiki, good for you. However, as you can see from this chapter, I've changed them slightly. For those of you wondering about Naruto's new skills, I'm afraid you'll have to wait, they'll be explained in due time.

Jutsu Library:

**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**-Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique

**Futon:** **Oxygenate no Jutsu**-Wind Element: Oxygenate technique (yeah, this is definitely not Japanese)

**Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu**-Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique

**Rankyaku**-Storm leg (Taijutsu technique allowing user to send a projectile of chakra from one's leg in a kicking motion)

**Soru**-Shave (Taijutsu technique allowing user to move at rapid speeds)

**Impact** (Taijutsu move allowing user to deal massive, internal damage to opponent)

**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**-Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique


	4. Chapter 3: Confrontations and Friends

A/N: I just want to give a big thanks to my beta, Leafy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 3**

While the Hokage tended to the multitude of injuries, both external and internal, Kakashi had received, Sakura gave a recounting what she had witnessed to the small gathering of shinobi who had appeared at the site.

"What possessed you to organize such a test? Neither Naruto nor Sakura are under your authority" asked Tsunade in full Hokage mode.

"I hadn't seen either of my students in the better part of three years. I was just excited to see them and was interested to see how much they had progressed in that time. Honestly though, I never expected such improvement, especially from Naruto.

"That was a very stupid thing to have done Kakashi" stated Jiraiya simply. "Naruto harbors some deep-seeded animosity towards you for your past mistakes and you just offered him an open invitation to come at you with the intent to kill. You're just lucky he didn't take you up on it."

"My mistakes? What mistakes? What could I have possibly done to have gained such unrestrained hatred from Naruto?"

Jiraiya couldn't help but bark out a laugh at that. "You honestly are going to tell me that you have no idea why Naruto may have disdain for you? Well Kakashi, I'm not going to be the one to tell you. You'll have to figure it out on your own and talk to Naruto about it. However, don't expect either of us to step in when that confrontation begins."

Confused and speculative whispers began to break out amongst the gathered shinobi, not all of whom were complete strangers to Naruto. In fact, several of them began to excuse themselves from the crowd and move towards the one location where Naruto could always be found, Ichiraku Ramen.

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Naruto was in fact on his way to said establishment, but was actually moving relatively slowly. Despite having used shunshin to escape the group of gathering shinobi, he didn't really go very far. His body was protesting his every movement as his muscles slowly began to knit themselves back together. Okay, so maybe he'd overdone it, but it had been totally worth opening five of the celestial gates while unleashing Kyuubi's chakra just to see the look on Kakashi's face when he broke from his genjutsu and attacked faster than he could see. It wasn't as if Kakashi didn't deserve it, his past mistakes were plenty enough to warrant the beating he'd issued, but then he had the gall to cast such an illusion on him. Naruto's fists clenched as his anger rose up as he recalled the fight.

-----Flashback-----

"_Go ahead and uncover your trump card, I simply won't allow you to view any techniques you can copy."_

_Kakashi chuckled. He had sorely underestimated his opponent. Granting his student's wish, he raised his headband to reveal his sharingan eye. "Very well Naruto, let's see just how far you've come." said Kakashi casting '_**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**_' when he caught Naruto's eye._

_Now, what Naruto didn't realize nor did Kakashi take into account was the fact that __**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu **__is not a jutsu that is controlled by the caster. The illusion produced is a byproduct of the caster's chakra invading the opponent's mind and bringing their greatest current fear or worst memory to the forefront of their mind. For Naruto, this meant that Kakashi disappeared in the swirl of leaves leaving a figure he hadn't seen in three years._

"_Hello dobe" came the voice of the 12-year-old Uchiha Sasuke. "You'll never surpass me. Thanks to Kakashi-sensei's teachings, I'm far beyond your level and now, I'm going to finish the job I began at the Valley of the End." Taunted the figure charging up a __**Chidori**_. "_Orochimaru will grant me the power I need to destroy _him_ and once I do, the people of Konoha will welcome me back with open arms for killing two of their demons!" _

_Naruto's knuckles turned white from being clenched into fists so hard. But before he could even move, the image of his former best friend was upon him. With a squelching sound, Sasuke buried the chidori into Naruto's chest. Looking down at the arm protruding from his torso, Naruto snapped._

_In an explosion of Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto threw off the genjutsu and immediately unlocked the fifth gate and attacked Kakashi in a blur of speed._

-----Flashback-----

Unfortunately for Naruto, during his musings he wandered directly past his destination…directly into a crowd of villagers. With his characteristic yellow hair and unmistakable whisker marks, the villagers couldn't help but notice him. At first he didn't notice the glares or the whispers, but when one of them threw a bottle at him, Naruto broke out of his trance and looked up to find himself surrounded by a decent sized mob.

"What are you doing here demon?" asked one villager.

"Why couldn't you have just stayed away or died?" questioned another.

Similar questions could be heard being mumbled throughout the entire crowd. A few of the bigger men stepped forward and cracked their knuckles in what was meant to be an intimidating manner. "I suppose it's our duty to remind you that you're not welcome here." stated the leader, a former Chuunin, who threw a punch.

Unfortunately for the group, Naruto was not in a very charitable mood after his confrontation with Kakashi. Before the fist could connect with Naruto's face, the entire crowd as well as most of the street found themselves completely unable to move as a torrent of killing intent flooded the street. Glowing with a faint red aura, Naruto's whisker marks darkened, his eyes turned red and changed into the slitted eyes of a predator, and his hair darkened to a deep crimson. "**This has gone on long enough**." He whispered to the now shaking crowd in a deep, terrifying voice. Despite his quiet voice, the words carried just as well as they would have had he yelled them. "**You villagers disgust me. If I truly were the demon you all claim me to be, what's kept me from slaughtering the lot of you? If you truly thought I was the Kyuubi, you wouldn't dare to assault me. Instead, you take out your trouble from 15 years ago on an innocent boy. Think for yourselves-I'm either the terrifying demon of your nightmares or a young, defenseless boy you can satiate your anger on…it can't be both. You people are the true demons."** And, as suddenly as it had come, the killing intent and demonic chakra vanished and Naruto pushed through the still motionless crowd only to find two groups of people he did _not_ want to see at that moment.

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Having arrived at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, the group of young shinobi was surprised to find that Naruto wasn't there. In hurried discussion, they discussed where the missing blond may be. Through the entrance flap, a portly member noticed a pair of people walking by.

"Hey, Shikamaru! Temari!" he called out while exiting to the street, causing the two to turn towards the source of the noise.

"Chouji!" Shikamaru called in excited greeting recognizing his long time friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Naruto's back. We're looking for him." Answered the always stoic voice of Shino who exited the restaurant behind Chouji.

"That's right! Naruto-san's flames of youth are burning brightly! If I cannot find him I shall run 200 laps around Konoha on my hands!"

Swatting Lee's arm to end his tirade, Tenten greeted the two as Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, Neji, and Sakura exited the restaurant as well.

"Ano…Naruto-kun's over there…" Hinata interjected pointing towards a sizable mob of villagers with her byakugan activated. Startled by Hinata's addition, the group rushed towards the group, but their trip was cut short as killing intent like nothing any of the group had ever felt washed over them. Unable to even move, they could only stand there and listen to Naruto's speech until the killing intent dissipated and they were able to move again.

No sooner had Naruto pushed his way through the crowd to find his friends standing not five yards away, did a group of ANBU land next to him.

"Uzumaki-san," addressed an ANBU captain with long purple hair, "is everything alright here?"

"Yes." spoke Naruto his eyes never leaving the group of his friends. "It was merely a confrontation that was a long time coming, but as you can see, there has been no violence. Now, please excuse me, I'm in desperate need of something to eat, and I believe I have a lot of explaining to do to the group here." He added gesturing to the former Gennin.

"Of course, sir." Nodded the captain and with a quick sequence of signs to one of her members, the ANBU less one departed as silently as they came.

Giving a hesitant smile to his gathered friends, Naruto addressed them. "Come on guys, I haven't had Ichiraku ramen in three years, my treat. I'm sure you all have plenty of questions for me." And, with that, the group entered for a hot meal and long overdue conversations.

* * *

A/N: Thanks everyone who's read this story so far. Despite having only 3 reviews, I've had enough interest that I thought I'd post another chap today. Sorry for the short chapter, but this seemed like a good stopping point. I'll have the next chap out some time tomorrow.

Jutsu Library:

**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**-Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique

**Chidori**-Thousand Birds


	5. Chapter 4: Friends and Advancement

A/N: Here's the new chapter as promised. Thanks to those of you who reviewed. Again, thanks to my wonderful beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 4**

After a quick and enthusiastic conversation with the owner Teuchi, Naruto managed to rent out the entirety of the stand for the next couple hours to allow them some privacy. Pushing together some tables, the group got comfortable as Teuchi brought out some ramen.

"Other than Temari, I'm sure you're all wondering just what that was all about out there." Naruto began.

"Actually Naruto," interjected Shikamaru "It's pretty simple to understand based on what you said out there. The villagers have this troublesome idea that your being the jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi makes you someone onto whom they can alleviate their anger towards the demon that destroyed their lives many years ago."

Naruto was actually gaping like a fish when he saw the understanding nods coming from all of those around him. "But…how…?"

"After you left, that little secret rapidly spread throughout the entire village, ignoring what we now know to be the Sandaime's law. No one actually knows who started it, so it's largely gone unpunished, but, on the positive side, most of the shinobi at least recognize the difference between the jailer and the prisoner." added Sakura.

"Your burden doesn't affect our friendship at all Naruto." smiled Tenten as the others nodded.

Wiping a tear away from his face, Naruto couldn't help but beam at his friends. "Thank you…all of you. You have no idea what this means to me. I've kept this secret from all of you for years afraid of your reaction…" he trailed off.

"Oh, stop being so sappy! Tell us about your travels. Even I only know the beginning of it." interjected Temari when the moment became too sweet for her.

Grinning at the sandy blond, Naruto acquiesced "Fine, fine. However, I'm just going to tell you the basics, it'd be a long story otherwise and some of it remains confidential." Seeing the eager looks on the faces around them, he continued. "After leaving Konoha, I had radically different expectations for just what the training trip was going to entail than Jiraiya had in mind. I thought it was going to be learning tons of cool and flashy new jutsu while traveling around the continent. Well, at first at least it was relearning jutsu I already thought I knew. It came as a shock to me, but Jiraiya wouldn't teach me a single new jutsu until I had mastered every jutsu I currently knew up to his standards which, given his personality are surprisingly strict. I spent the entire trip to Wave and an additional four months once we arrived, optimizing henge, kawarimi, and bushin no jutsu. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari are doing fine by the way Sakura-chan. It was maddening, especially the bushin no jutsu since I never truly learned it once I learned kage bushin. That being said, by the end of that time, I could perform each of them without seals and with hardly a thought."

"I can understand the usefulness of knowing how to kawarimi by reflex, but what use is a sealless bushin?" asked a confused Sakura.

"I asked him that same question…"

-----Flashback-----

_Two months of working with Jiraiya found one very frustrated Naruto. In all of that time, he didn't feel like he had progressed at all. Oh, sure,, he was learning, but Jiraiya had yet to teach him anything new. They were working exclusively on ninjutsu and _only_ on the jutsu he already knew. Hell, they were still working on the academy jutsu. In two months time, he had only managed to progress past henge and kawarimi. Now Jiraiya had him working on bushin, not kage bushin mind you, oh no…instead he had him working on his worst skill!!_

_After failing for the thousandth time that day to produce a functional clone, he yelled to Jiraiya in exasperation, "What the hell is the point of this?! I already know kage bushin, what would I want to make useless clones?!"_

_Jiraiya did not look pleased with the boy's question. It was not the first time Naruto had complained in his training, but Jiraiya knew he needed to drive his point home to the blond. Even so, he decided to answer the boy's question. "Every skill you learn has a purpose. For you more than anyone, bushin no jutsu would be a phenomenal advantage. Two of the weaknesses of kage bushin are that they take large amounts of chakra to create and they can be dispelled with only a single hit. Imagine the advantage of creating an army of bushin with a subset of kage bushin mixed in. For those opponents without a doujutsu, they would be unable to easily differentiate between solid clones and illusions. This would cause them to waste their energy attacking illusions as well as prevent them from knowing which attacks are harmless from the bushin and which are actual blows from the kage bushin._

_Recognizing the possibilities such a combination would open for him, Naruto grinned and returned to his training with renewed vigor._

-----End Flashback-----

"So, being able to perform the technique without hand seals allows me to summon both bushin and kage bushin simultaneously adding to the effect" concluded Naruto. "Even so, while I fully appreciated that project once I managed to learn the skill, at that point I still didn't understand Jiraiya's fixation on what he termed 'mastering' a jutsu. No, I didn't truly understand that until we moved on to kage bushin."

-----Flashback-----

_It was nearly another two months and a lot of failure, chakra control, and peeping (at least for Jiraiya) before Naruto managed to learn and master bushin no jutsu up to Jiraiya's standards. As much as he hated the effort it took to learn, Naruto had to admit it was an effective admission to his repertoire. _

"_Alright Naruto, well done. Next, let's work on your kage bushin."_

"_You've got to be kidding me old man! I already know kage bushin…I've been using it for years!"_

_With a frown, Jiraiya added "I'll admit, you've already got a decent grasp on its uses during battle, but you lack understanding of its true purpose." Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but Jiraiya cut himself off. "Tell me, why is kage bushin classified as a kinjutsu?"_

"_How the hell am I supposed to know? Being that it's a kinjutsu I can't just look up that information. The only time I've ever heard of it was when I borrowed the forbidden scroll…it's not like I can just do that again."_

"_Naruto. Make a kage bushin and have it follow my clone." Said Jiraiya sternly, creating a clone which walked towards the bridge. _

_With a quick "__**Kage Bushin no Jutsu**__" Naruto followed suit._

_A few minutes later Naruto yelled out "What the hell Ero-sannin! If you're going to get caught peeping, don't bring me with you to take the fall."_

"_What do you mean Naruto? I've been standing right here the whole time." said the Jiraiya who was standing a few yards away._

"_I know that, I meant your…clone…" Naruto was rendered speechless as the implications of Jiraiya's lesson became clear. After about five minutes of gaping like a fish at the old toad hermit Naruto shouted "What the hell?! Why didn't you just tell me that to begin with?! I wasted months learning those other jutsu when I could have spread up the progress."_

"_This is why I said you needed to master your jutsu. This was to make you understand that I actually know what I'm talking about. While yes, you could have accomplished a lot more had I just told you this, maybe now you'll take what I say seriously. Additionally, the reason kage bushin is a kinjutsu isn't because of its learning potential, but if one isn't careful, the chakra needed to use it or mental strain from releasing too many clones at month can kill you. Start packing, we leave tomorrow at dawn, we're going to need more room for your training now."_

-----End Flashback-----

"As much as I hated the old pervert at the time, he was right and once I forgave him and accepted that, my training really went much more smoothly." We packed up the next day and actually went to Suna. Once there, life settled into a basic routine, up at dawn; walk out into the desert; create a lot of clones; send some to train in whatever jutsu Jiraiya assigned or taught me that day, send others to study strategy, bingo books, jutsu, fighting styles, etc; others to work on my taijutsu; some to practice chakra control; etc. In the meantime, I spent my time improving on the one thing that my clones couldn't change, my physical strength, stamina, and speed. After finishing my morning workout, I took a break for lunch to hang out with Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara whenever they were around. Beyond having a reprieve from my physical activity, it gave me a chance to recover the necessary chakra to summon another large number of clones in the afternoon. Afternoons were basically the same as the mornings. And evenings mainly consisted of saving Jiraiya from whatever mess his peeping got him into."

"After six months, in Suna we packed up and moved on. After that we spent the next six months in my mother's home village."

"Wait, you found out who your mother is?!" interrupted Shikamaru. He of course had his own suspicions of who the blonds' parents were, but the chance to confirm them was far too irresistible to pass up.

"Yeah! I actually found out who both of my parents were in fact. However, I'm sorry Shikamaru, but that's going to have to remain my secret as it's completely confidential, as is where my mother was from." Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at this, as it fit directly into his best assumptions, but stayed his tongue and turned his attention back to the story at hand. "My daily routine stayed relatively similar while there other than I spent my free time exploring or helping out around the town."

"After six months there, as I said, Jiraiya and I left and began to just wander the continent. At this point, I had improved drastically from when I had left, and the biggest thing I lacked was actual experience, so while we journeyed, Jiraiya and I acted as mercenaries taking on whatever missions we could find. Beyond that we were meeting up with a variety of his contacts and of course, visiting every hot spring on the continent. Eventually we finished up out there and headed back home so that I can finally make Chuunin."

Seeing the grins on the faces of those around him, Naruto asked "What?!"

Kiba's grin broadened as he responded, "Oh, nothing, it's just funny that all of us now outrank you!"

Shocked by the information, he looked for confirmation on the faces of each of the others. "So, you've all made Chuunin?!" Seeing their nods, he quirked an eyebrow as both Temari and Neji raised their hands.

"Jounin." Temari added with a peace sign and mocking smile. "So is Kankuro. Oh, and Gaara's the Godaime Kazekage."

Looking around in disbelief, Naruto asked "So, I'm the only one who's still a Gennin?"

"No, there's still another of the original rookie nine who's still a Gennin," answered Shikamaru.

"But that's just because she's been busy with other duties," added a voice from behind Naruto.

"I wondered when you were going to show yourself. I'm glad to see you listened to my advice..." Turning Naruto smiled at the ANBU "Ino."

* * *

A/N: I'm leaving town today for a few days. But, assuming I manage to make a bit more headway in this, I'll try to post the next chapter on Friday.

Jutsu Library:

**Kage Bushin no Jutsu**-Shadow Clone Technique


	6. Chapter 5: Past and Future Teams

A/N: Thanks again to Leafy for all her help.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Chapter 5**

"So, Ino, you're still a Gennin ey?" asked Naruto with a grin.

"Yeah, I told Hokage-sama that I didn't want to take the exams again until you were back since I knew that you'd be in need of a teammate, or two. In the meantime, I began to apprentice my current ANBU captain Uzuki Yuugao. Once my skills improved enough, I joined the ANBU in her team since I couldn't advance without taking the Chuunin exams. Enough about me though, you'll get that story once we're assigned to a team. Why don't you tell us what the deal was in your fight with Kakashi."

Looking down, the smile disappeared from Naruto's face. "How much has Sakura told you guys about our times on Team 7?"

With a bark of a laugh Kiba responds, "Other than Sasuke this and Sasuke that and Sasuke's so amazing, we really didn't hear much about your time there." The temperature in the room dropped several degrees at the glare Naruto sent Kiba's way.

"Well, back when we joined Kakashi's team, that's basically how I feel he approached our training as well. Back then, I was so desperate to for people's approval, I thought that Kakashi was the best thing since sliced bread. The mission to recover Sasuke changed my outlook on everything. Sakura-chan, other than the tree climbing exercise, can you name a single thing that Kakashi-sensei ever taught us?" Taking her silent contemplation as a no, he continued, "Neither can I. And yet, even before the Chuunin exams, Sasuke was improving steadily. While I know he did some learning on his own, there's no way his skill and ninjutsu repertoire improved in leaps and bound while ours merely improved at a snail's pace. Then, after the preliminaries, I rushed up to Kakashi-sensei immediately to ask him to train me for the exam; I was facing Hyuuga Neji the prodigy after all." Naruto said with a wink towards the stoic Hyuuga. "Considering that Sasuke was unconscious in the hospital, I was pretty sure I was the first to ask and yet he decided to completely blow me off in order to train Sasuke. Granted, he did attempt to set me up with another teacher, but, no offense to Ebisu, he's not in the same league as Kakashi. Even Kakashi's training of Sasuke I could have forgiven, especially considering it led to my meeting and subsequent training with Jiraiya. However, the rescue/retrieval mission changed all that. It was bad enough that I was forced to fight my best friend and prodigy of the strongest clan in all the leaf-sorry Neji, Hinata-chan-but I had to do that with him throwing around Lee's taijutsu, Chuunin and above level ninjutsu, Orochimaru's cursed seal, and of course, our _teacher's_ prized personal assassination technique, which he ran me through with…twice. If it wasn't for the fox, I would certainly have died. Even with its strength and healing, I nearly did…all thanks to Kakashi-sensei."

Not really having anything to say to this, the group sat in silence, contemplating Naruto's story. For many of them, this was the first time they had heard anything about Naruto's fight with Sasuke.

Finally, Hinata broke the silence asking about something only she had witnessed thanks to her byakugan. "Naruto, what was that with the villagers earlier, I mean, I know the chakra and killing intent were from the Kyuubi, but what about your hair and your whisker marks?"

"Back when I fought Sasuke in the valley of the end, in order to keep up with his insane speed and ability, not to mention the boost of power granted to him by the cursed seal, I called on a large amount of Kyuubi's chakra, what I now know to be the maximal amount I was able to then. At the time, I simply let it engulf me and it took the form of a fox around me. While it had some useful properties, it was exceedingly wasteful and difficult to control. During my travels, one of the things I worked on was control over the Kyuubi's chakra, allowing me to summon more of it without succumbing to the side effects of its primal nature. What you saw was the end result. I'm limited in the amount I can summon, and it does a number on my body, not unlike opening the gates, but I can maintain control of myself. Enough about me, Temari, what're you doing in Konoha." Looking back and forth between her and Shikamaru who were sitting next to each other, he got a sly look. "Are the two of you on a date?"

"You're joking, why would I go out with such a…As you know, there's a Chuunin exam coming up here in Konoha soon. I'm just going back and forth between the sand and leaf for meetings." responded Temari.

"And it's troublesome, but I've become an examiner, so I was told to go and see off the messengers from sand."

From there on, the meal proceeded with companionable conversation as the friends caught up with each other after three years apart.

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"Originally, I was going to have Kakashi take over again as Naruto's Jounin sensei from now through the exams, but with Naruto's animosity, not to mention Kakashi's injuries, I need someone else. Will you take Kakashi's place?" asked Tsunade to an unnamed ANBU.

"To take Kakashi-sempai's place? That is indeed an honor."

"This is not an ANBU mission. You will have to perform this without your mask and I'll be providing you with a code name. For the duration of the mission, your code name shall be 'Yamato.'

"I understand." The newly named Yamato affirm bowing his head.

"One of the reasons I'm selecting you is, as you know, Naruto is a jinchuuriki and your unique talents may come in handy if he turns out to be too much. While his training with Jiraiya taught him much greater control of Kyuubi's chakra than before he left, he can still be influenced by its primal nature if he channels too much. Don't forget, he did put Kakashi in the hospital using only an amount he could control." Getting a nod from Yamato she continued, "Now, we just need to decide on a third member to complete the team."

"That won't be necessary. A third teammate has already been selected." interjected a voice from behind her. Turning around she found the speaker to be none other than Danzou, the old war hawk who many years before competed with Sarutobi for the title of Sandaime Hokage. Beside Danzou stood the Hokage's advisors, Homura and Koharu, lending credibility to his statement.

"Danzou, if you're here than that means…they must be one of your 'Ne' from the 'ROOT' division of ANBU."

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Over the next several hours, the friends began to trickle out until only Naruto remained, eating his 22nd bowl of ramen and conversing lively with Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. After once again thanking the pair, Naruto paid the bill with a generous tip and left to head home.

Stepping out of the tent, he entered the deserted street only immediately dive to the side to avoid the charge of what appeared to be tiger made entirely from ink. Rolling to his feet, he immediately shot a '_**Rankyaku**_' at the beast which disintegrated into ink upon impact. Now facing another charging tiger, he called wind chakra to his hand and will a call of "**Shigan**" he extended two fingers and struck the creature right between the eyes causing it to also lose form and once again dissolve ink.

Having dealt with the problem at hand, Naruto began searching for the source of the attack, but could only see an empty street. Suddenly a figure landed next to him causing him to tense up until he recognized the presence.

"He's on the rooftop one block over at the end of the street." said the figure before immediately running in the aforementioned direction.

Trusting his sudden partner's word, Naruto also ran towards the still unknown assailant pulling up even with the running ANBU. Reaching the base of the building, a swarm of tigers launched at them from the roof.

"Naruto, jump back, then get him, I'll handle these." said his assistant pulling out two kodachi. Jumping backwards, he was shocked when with a cry of "**Nito-Ryu: ****Tatsumaki**" and a quick spin, a dragon-like tornado erupted from her and obliterated the approaching ink beasts. Not having time to admire her handiwork, Naruto jumped to the roof and, pulling out a kunai attempted to strike the assailant who blocked with what appeared to be a paint brush.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked the stranger as he was wearing a leaf headband.

"You're pretty weak." he responded. "Are you sure you even have a penis."

With a smirk, Naruto returned with "Positive." And simply blew up causing the unsuspecting nin to go sailing backwards off the roof and through the window of the neighboring building.

'_Bushin Bakuha?! But I didn't even see him make a clone_.'He thought to himself, pulling himself out of the hole his entry created. He found Naruto staring at him from the roof he had been on.

"I'm only going to ask this one more time, who are you?"

"My name's Sai," answered the figure this time. "I'm you're new teammate. See you tomorrow Naruto-kun." And, with a swirl of ink, he was gone.

* * *

A/N: A little bit of action for you. The next big fight scenes are coming out in chapters 7 & 8. As much as I like writing them, I need to fill in some other chapters with actual plot. For the time being, I'm going to try to publish on Mondays and Fridays unless I get too busy with work to pump out the chapters. So, look for Chapter 6 on Monday. R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Rankyaku**-Storm Leg

**Shigan**-Finger Gun (the workings of this were hinted upon in this chapter, but will be explained in a later chapter)

**Nito-Ryu: ****Tatsumaki**-Two Sword Style: Dragon Coil/Dragon Twister


	7. Chapter 6: New Team and New Mission

A/N: Sorry this is coming out so late in the day, but the website was having some problems with the document manager. Please note that I've changed the previous chapter slightly-one of my reviewers pointed out that Tsunade came across far too harsh (and not trusting) when talking to Yamato, so I've gone back and changed it slightly. As always, thanks to Leafy for her beta work. Enjoy the Chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Chapter 6**

"Ino," Said Naruto turning to look at the ANBU next to him. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, but what are you doing here?"

"Well, until we form our team, I'm still on-duty. After your little stunt with the villagers earlier, Yuugao-taichou gave me instructions to keep an eye on you the rest of the day and to intervene should another altercation occur."

Nodding at that, Naruto couldn't really fault her for following orders. "Again, thanks for the assistance, but I'm going to head home now, if we really are going to be getting our team assignment tomorrow, I'm going to need to be well rested to keep myself from killing that little prick." Smiling at her, he continued, "You've gotten stronger Ino, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do." In a swirl of leaves, he was gone.

Smiling at the spot Naruto occupied just a moment before, she too headed home. It ought to be an interesting couple weeks between then and the Chuunin exam.

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Bright and early-too early in his opinion-the next morning, Naruto trekked to the Hokage's office for the meeting Tsunade set up the previous day. Having met up with both Ino and the mysterious figure Sai the previous day, Naruto had a good idea about what this meeting was going to be about. Sure enough, Tsunade informed him of his new team assignment, being sure to stress that Kakashi would _not_ be his Jounin instructor, something which he was surprised and grateful for.

"Naruto." Tsunade stopped him as he was leaving the office, "Should Kakashi approach you, at least take the time to talk to him before attacking him. No matter your personal feelings, you are both shinobi of the leaf and therefore, comrades."

Nodding to the older blond, Naruto left the office only to run directly into Sakura. "Ah, Naruto!" she exclaimed glad to see him, "Off to meet your team?"

"Yeah." he nodded enthusiastically. "What're you doing here Sakura-chan?"

"I'm the Hokage's apprentice. I'm here for my daily lesson."

"Ohhhh, of course. That would explain that freakish strength you showed in the bell test yesterday."

Smiling, Sakura nodded. Giving him a quick glance over, she asked, "Well, I'm sure you need to be going, but do you want to take me out to dinner tonight?...You know, for old time's sake?" she backpedaled quickly with a light blush.

Naruto was shocked. "Like, a date?"

Seeing her nod, Naruto couldn't help but grin. "Really?! You mean it?!" Seeing yet another nod, his smile grew wider. "I'd love to Sakura-chan. However, I'm really not sure what my new sensei's got planned for us. Once I know, how about I send a kage bushin to let you know. If I can make it, let's plan to meet up at Ichiraku at 6 otherwise, rain check?"

A tick mark appeared on Sakura's face at the complete lack of respect he was showing her mentor, but restrained herself and simply answered. "Sounds good, but should we ever go out again, I expect something other than ramen!" Plans made, the two parted ways with identical smiles.

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After leaving the Hokage's office, Naruto didn't really have time to anything other than grab a quick bite to eat (ramen of course) and then head to training ground 12 to meet up with his new team. Walking into the training grounds, he was surprised to see that, despite being about 5 minutes early, he was the last one there. Shooting a glare towards the new Gennin, he spoke up, "So, it really is you. What was that about last night?"

"Eh, Naruto, you know this person?" asked Yamato.

"Yeah." answered Ino, "He attacked us last night."

"Sorry about before. I just wanted to gauge the ability of my new team member. I needed to know how much I was going to have to look after the little prick with no balls."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" shouted Naruto at the clear insult.

Grabbing the back of his flak jacket, Ino held him in place. "Hey, calm down, he may be a jackass, but he's still our new teammate."

Smiling a fake smile at the two, Sai added, "I like people like you, useless sluts."

With a thunk, Sai looked down to see one of Ino's kodachi protruding from between his legs held in place by the tip imbedded into the stone column he was leaning against. "It can be arranged for one member of our team to be missing their balls." She said with a furious look on her face. While, normally Sai would simply smile and insult her, the clear threat and serious look on her face, stayed his comments.

"Ahem." came Yamato's voice from behind them. "As you said before Ino, we are now a team, remove your weapon and save it for your enemies. You may call me Yamato. I will be your Jounin instructor at least through the Chuunin exam depending on your performance." Seeing their nods and relaxed postures, he continued, "I realize that the exam is merely two weeks away, so we're going to begin missions immediately. But first, none of us know anything about the others, at least in their fighting ability. Why don't we start with a quick rundown of your abilities. Sai, why don't you start."

"My name is Sai, as you all know. I've been in ROOT as long as I can remember and my skill reflects that. I specialize in ink drawing related ninjutsu and genjutsu. With my Ninpou: Choujuu Giga, that you saw last night, I can animate any creature I draw in order to create my own disposable army or spies. My taijutsu isn't my strongest ability, but is sufficient to get me out of poor situations."

Nodding at the explanation, Yamato pointed to Ino to go next.

"My name is Yamanaka Ino. During the past three years, I have trained under Uzuki Yuugao in the art of kenjutsu using kodachi. I joined her ANBU squad a little over a year ago. Combined with my kekai genkai, which enables me to predict a person's movements as well as locate anyone within a kilometer of me, my kenjutsu and family's techniques can be used to much greater effect."

As if a light bulb was turned on in Naruto's head, he spoke up, "So that's how you were immediately able to locate Sai last night! I didn't know your family had a kekai genkai."

Nodding, Ino answered, "It's very rare to manifest. In fact, as far as our records show, I'm the first to manifest Mantra in the past five generations of my family."

"Who would have thought the bitch would outclass the runt. Though, I guess that's not too surprising considering, without his balls, the runt may as well be a bitch."

"What is your freaking problem?!" asked Naruto holding Sai up with one hand by the front of his shirt. Ino had out one of her blades drawn pointing once again at Sai's nether regions.

"I'm sorry." Sai stated with a warm smile. "I did not mean to offend. This is my first 'normal' interaction with other kids my age."

Feeling slightly sorry for him, the two let him off the hook and removed the threats to his person. Smiling in what appeared to be thanks, Sai deadpanned "You really believed that apology? We're all as good as dead…"

Intervening before he had to find a new student, Yamato silenced Sai with terrifying look that none of them has seen before.

"Yamato-sensei, we need to find another person. I'll never consider someone like him a team member."

"I'm glad you think of me that way." said Sai, surprising everyone. "I wouldn't want to be likened to the weak shit-for-brains Orochimaru clone who only cared about power and betrayed Konoha by running off to its biggest enemy."

Staring hard at Sai, Naruto could detect no deceit in his words. With a smile, he added, "You and I may just manage to get along after all." Turning back to Yamato, he continued, "As you all know I'm Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The last three years I spent training under"

"Oh, you really are gay?" interjected Sai.

Ignoring the play on the double meaning of his own words, Naruto simply continued, "or performing missions with Jiraiya of the Sannin. In that time I mastered or created many jutsu of every element, invented my own taijutsu style focusing around my wind elemental affinity, learned to control Kyuubi's chakra, and learned to open the celestial gates. Thanks to Kyuubi's influence, I can open five gates without any lasting effect, though that still takes a few minutes to heal."

"Impossible!" stared Sai in shock. "No one could learn so much in only three years, let alone invent an entire taijutsu style."

"Between my own chakra reserves, Kyuubi's chakra and healing capabilities, and kage bunshin, I was able to accomplish a lot more than the average person."

'_Interesting._' thought Yamato. '_I feel bad for the poor saps in this exam…_' "Very well, I think I've got a general idea on each of your abilities, enough that I can know what to expect from you. We have little time before now and the exam to truly form you three into a team, so we begin our first mission immediately. The fire lord would like to be present for the entirety of this year's exam. It is us, along with your former ANBU team" he nodded to Ino "who will be meeting us there, who are responsible for accompanying him here and ensuring his safety. This is an A rank mission due to the importance of the client and is set to take from now until the day before the exam, so pack accordingly and meet me at the front gate in 2 hours; don't be late." With that, Yamato vanished in a swirl of leaves.

After nodding to their two teammates, the other three went their own ways.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's all for now, mostly a bit of filler. Finally, however, we will be deviating from the Shippuden plotline in the next chapter. For those who wonder about the length of the chapters, I mostly try to simply end them at logical points. Right now that seems to be about 2000 words/chapter, but perhaps that will go up in the future. I hope my frequent updates will be enough to keep you all satisfied for now. Chapter 7 will be a fun chapter, so look for it on Friday.

Justu Library:

None for this chapter.

* * *


	8. Chapter 7: Trial and Tribulation

A/N: Sorry this is out so late in the day. I somehow managed to get a virus on my computer here which I've been working for the last several days to attempt to fix. Then, with the death of my laptop, I had to rewrite a good portion of this chapter. (When I get that back I may repost this.) Anyways, here it is, as promised. Thanks again to my wonderful beta.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 7**

The Fire Daimyo was currently visiting a town on the northern border of fire country, somewhat east of Konoha on the road one would typically take in order to reach Kumogakure. This was, by normal shinobi pace, about a two day trip, but by caravan took approximately 10 days to traverse. With the Chuunin exams just two weeks away, there was little time to spare on this mission.

Arriving at the gate, Naruto found he was the last one there. Giving a simple wave towards Sakura, he leveled a glare in Sai's direction.

"Please stop staring at me." Sai said simply. "It's really unnerving when gay people stare at you like you're a piece of meat."

"What the hell?! Why the hell are you even here?! Every damn thing you say just pisses people off." Naruto yelled at him.

"Hey!" came a voice from behind the group. "You guys need to knock it off and learn to work together. That is the purpose of this mission after all. Teamwork and cooperation are the most important things in a team. Being that you were on Kakashi-sempai's team, I would have thought you would know that Naruto."

"It's because he's not a team member! All he has done since the moment I met him is attack me and insult myself and Ino. I'll never consider someone like him, a member of my team."

"Well, I'm glad you think of me that way." said Sai with a smile. "The last person you really considered a team member was Uchiha Sasuke, and I wouldn't want to be likened to that shit-for-brains Orochimaru clone who only cared about power and ran off, betraying Konoha for its most notorious missing nin."

Ino drew in a sharp breath, expecting an explosion from Naruto. She was however, surprised when instead Naruto gave a slight smile in Sai's direction. "You know Sai," he said, "you and I just may be able to get along afterall." With that, he nodded to Yamato, and the team of four proceeded out the gates.

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Unfortunately, the tentative camaraderie didn't last-Sai's sharp tongue and insulting comments slowly wore on the group. Regardless, Yamato lead them at a breakneck pace. He was pleasantly surprised when, several hours later, none of them had yet to complain. Despite what their files said, he had expected at least one of them to lack the stamina to maintain the pace which he set.

Slowing to a stop near a small village, Yamato addressed the group. "That's enough for today-we actually made it further than I expected. Come, let us spend the night at the nearby town here, they have excellent hot springs, and nothing breeds companionship like being naked together."

A twitch appeared on Ino's forhead. "PERVERT!" she shouted drawing her kodachi.

"Er…" backpedaled Yamato quickly. "The baths are not unisex…I wasn't implying such indecency."

Appeased by Yamato's apologetic tone as well as clarification, Ino was actually looking forward to relaxing in the warm water, not to mention away from Sai.

Speaking of Sai… "Are you sure that's a good idea? I think queer-bait over here may enjoy the views too much."

Before Naruto could open his mouth to retort, Yamato cut him off. "That's enough! You guys may not know me all that well, but while I prefer to be nice and friendly, I have no idea ruling by fear either!" he said. Despite being unable to detect it, all three Gennin felt Yamato must have been using a genjutsu as his face contorted in a way that instilled fear in each of them.

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Soon enough, the group found themselves relaxing in the hot springs. "You see," said Yamato addressing Naruto and Sai, "for guys, there's nothing like being naked together to make us feel like companions." Turning towards them, he unleashed his terrifying face "Don't you agree?"

"Of…of course." said Naruto just wanting to get that look directed elsewhere.

"Well well…you really do have one." said Sai completely ignoring Yamato.

Turning towards him, Naruto found him staring directly into the water at his lap. "DON'T GO LOO…" Naruto began to scream at the boy before he noticed Sai's shocked, gaping expression. He also couldn't help but notice the other boy subconsciously crossing his legs. Anger forgotten, Naruto burst out laughing.

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The next morning, the group left the small village and set out again. Despite having been 'brought closer' by their time at the hot springs, the group dynamics hadn't really changed. Sai still continually insulted everyone, Naruto and Ino continually threatened with bodily harm, and Yamato would intervene, allowing Sai to remain a man. After the third occurrence that morning, Yamato had enough-even the threat of his terrifying face wasn't enough to prevent the squabbles.

"Okay, that's it. Despite your individual skills, you are still a team, and need to be able to work together for this mission, the exam, and as a shinobi. Before we go any further, we're going to do a team building exercise. Here's what we're going to do: your goal is to defeat me, but each of you will be limited in what you can do. Naruto, you may only use genjutsu and weapons. Ino, you may only use ninjutsu and nothing involving your blades. Finally, Sai, you may only use taijutsu. With only your weakest skill at your disposal, you will be forced to rely on your teammates for help. Now, let's begin." With that said Yamato shunshinned away, letting his students find him when they were ready.

After a moment, Ino broke the silence. "As much as I hate to say it, this is a good exercise. With my kekai genkai, it won't be a problem to find him. He's about 100 yards that way." she said indicating with her finger.

"Uh…guys…I don't know any genjutsu, I have absolutely no talent for them." Added Naruto.

"Great, so your skill in genjutsu is only less pathetic then your skill in the bedroom. You're going to be a _big_ help."

Glaring at the other boy, Naruto turned his attention to Ino when she spoke up. "You can use any weapons you have though, so you can still help. We're all well trained shinobi, why don't we just play this by ear. Sai, you engage Yamato-sensei in taijutsu and Naruto and I will assist you when we can."

"Against a shinobi of Yamato's class, simply fighting him blind with this much of a disadvantage will get us nowhere." Taking charge, Naruto instructed, "The two of you try force him into this clearing. I'll have a surprise waiting for him here. Once it's set up, I'll assist you." Nodding at the idea, Ino and Sai left the clearing to engage their target.

Smiling, at the clear display of teamwork (despite Sai's off-color statement), the moku bunshin Yamato left fused with a nearby tree returned to the ANBU captain and shared the kids' plan with him. '_Let's see if those two have the skills necessary to pull it off_.'

No sooner had he thought that he was forced to dodge a sword thrust from Sai who dropped down in front of him. Pulling out a kunai, Yamato engaged Sai in a light taijutsu/kenjutsu match. After only a few seconds, the difference in the two was clear and Yamato was proven to be the superior, kicking Sai away from him without the boy landing a strike. Sensing Ino behind him, Yamato jumped away hoping to avoid whatever jutsu she was planning. Unfortunately for him, her Mantra predicted his movement allowing her to catch him in mid jump.

"**Katon: Hiken**." She called out thrusting her fist forward. A column of fire launched at the still airborne Yamato.

Unable to dodge, Yamato flashed through handseals of his own calling out "**Mokuton: ****Moku Shouheki no Jutsu**" a half-dome of wood erupted from the ground shielding him from Ino's flame attack.

Eyes wide, Ino could only stare at the barrier that blocked her attack. _'Mokuton? But how? I thought only the Shoudai Hokage could use such a technique.'_

Sai, recovering from Yamato's blow resumed his assault, preventing Yamato from taking advantage of Ino's lapse in concentration. Unlike Ino, Danzo had informed him before the mission of Yamato's talent, so seeing it was not a surprise. Still unable to compete with Yamato in taijutsu, Sai found himself quickly on the defensive until another "**Katon: Hiken**." from Ino forced Yamato to Kawarimi rather than press his assault.

Charging at Ino while forming hand seals, he closed the distance between them and with a call of "**Mokuton: Shichuurou no Jutsu**." four walls of wood sprung up around Ino, trapping her within.

Turning to defend against a charging Sai, Yamato was surprised to hear "**Mutou-ryuu: Tatsumaki**." from behind him. The walls of his wooden prison were ripped from the earth and sent careening through the air releasing Ino from within.

Yamato himself was not completely spared the jutsu's wrath and he was sent tumbling head over heals. Rolling to his feet, he blocked another sword strike from Sai. The two battled for dominance for a moment before Yamato released the force he was putting in to holding the stalemate allowing the sword strike to continue and merely changed its direction. Sai, not expecting such a maneuver lost his footing. Before Yamato was able to press his advantage, ninja wire wrapped around him and a call of "**Katon: Ryuuka**." from Ino, the wire was set ablaze as fire so dense it appeared almost liquid rushed towards the bound Yamato.

When the blaze died down, only a smoking log in the vague shape of a person remained. Having recognized that the wire that had previously bound him came not from Ino, but a still concealed Naruto, Yamato took the chance to hide himself rather than attacking as he had in the past. Using her Mantra, Ino immediately uncovered Yamato's location and used another "**Katon: Hiken**." to alert her teammates and steer Yamato on their desired course.

Jumping to his right to avoid the flames, Yamato immediately discovered his mistake as a wire snapped and the air was immediately full of kunai. Once again using calling out "**Mokuton: ****Moku Shouheki no Jutsu**." the familiar half-dome appeared blocking the approaching kunai.

While shielded from the kunai storm, the barrier he erected also served to block his escape when Ino appeared next to him. Before he could push an attack she called out "**Mutou-ryuu: Tatsumaki**." as she spun herself in place. As before, a gale of wind spun around her, this time, with no buffer it slammed into him like a ton of bricks, tossing him around like a rag doll until he landed in the midst of the original clearing. Regaining his bearings, Yamato flipped in midair to get his feet below him. However, the moment he landed, wire toting explosive notes sprung up from the ground and wrapped him up preventing him from moving or making seals.

Relieved to see that the explosive notes were the kind which had to be activated by the user (and these weren't smoking), he looked up to see the tip of Sai's katana. With a grin, he said "I concede."

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The rest of the trip passed uneventfully and the team reached the home of the Daimyo of Fire Country without any incident. Unfortunately for all of them, despite their team building exercise, the team dynamics didn't change at all. It seemed that unless in the midst of battle, Sai refused to remain civil with his teammates. Staying overnight, the team woke early the next morning and, after confirming that the caravan was prepared to leave, awaited the arrival of Uzuki Yuugao and the rest of her ANBU team. When the scheduled meeting time came and went with no sign of the ANBU, Ino reached out with her Mantra searching for the missing team. "They're about half a kilometer away, but they're not moving in this direction, in fact, they're not moving at all."

Turning to the head of the Daimyo's personal guards Yamato said, "My team and I will investigate. Once we return, we will set off towards Konoha." With a nod to his team, they set out following Ino's lead.

Less than a minute later, they arrived at the location Ino indicated. The scene before them was not one any of them were prepared for. Lying sprawled across the field were the broken bodies of Ino's former team. The fact that Ino was able to locate them with her Mantra told the group that they were still alive, but each of the five had serious injuries-broken bones, burns, and still bleeding wounds.

Scanning with her Mantra confirmed that there were no figures nearby. "Who could have done such a thing?!" asked a shocked Ino as they worked to treat the injuries as best they could with their limited medical knowledge and small supply of bandages and creams all shinobi carried.

Yuugao stirred at the sound of Ino's voice and in a whispered voice choked out "Uchiha…Sasuke…"

* * *

A/N: Alright! Finally a bit of action. Sorry for the Sasuke teaser, but you'll get a look at what occurred next chapter. I'll have chapter 8 up Monday morning, so look for it. As always, R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Katon: Hiken**-Fire Element: Fire Fist

**Mokuton: ****Moku Shouheki no Jutsu**-Wood Element: Wood Barrier Technique

**Mokuton: Shichuurou no Jutsu**-Wood Element: Four Pillar Prison Technique

**Mutou-ryuu: Tatsumaki**-Zero Sword Style-Dragon Coil/Dragon Twister

**Katon: Ryuuka** **no Jutsu**-Fire Element: Dragon Fire


	9. Chapter 8: Enter the Snake

A/N: Chapter 8, as promised. Thanks as always to Leafy for her beta work. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 8**

While the majority of people in the ANBU program were Chuunin rank or ability, all ANBU captains were Jounin. Yuugao's team specifically was comprised of two Jounin (herself included) and three Chuunin, each of whom was scheduled to take the Jounin exams that year. To find all of them beaten to within an inch of their lives within Fire Country by a single shinobi was both shocking as well as disconcerting. For Ino, the situation was even more terrifying as she had first hand experience of strength of the Leaf shinobi involved. Yuugao, in particular, was an incredibly strong kunoichi acclaimed almost as highly as Yamato and Kakashi.

Despite her flaring emotions, Ino's training kicked in and she began searching for Sasuke with her Mantra. "He's not within my range." she notified her team.

Realizing that attempting to pursue him was pointless, Naruto-whose anger was palpable after hearing the Yuugao's words-relaxed slightly concentrating more on his work than preparing to battle. After finishing patching the last member of the team to the best of his ability, Naruto noticed Ino's tense and distraught demeanor. Placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder, he said "It'll be okay Ino. They're all going to make it through this." Looking at him, Ino gave him a halfhearted smile in thanks.

"Let's get them back to the Daimyo's home; they can ride in the caravan for the trip back." With a nod, Naruto created several clones each of which picked up one of the now patched ANBU members and began to walk back to where they came from, Yamato and Ino right behind them.

Sai trailed back for a moment thinking back to Danzou's final instructions to him for this mission.

-----Flashback-----

"_Danzou-sama. I am to leave immediately to accompany the Daimyo to Konoha to watch the Chuunin exams._

_Smiling at his subordinate Danzou replied, "I know, I was the one to ensure you were sent on this mission. I had been planning this for some time now. This mission will put you close to the border of Fire Country. I have recently managed to make contact with Orochimaru-he is expecting some documents from me. On this mission, you are to deliver this to him." Danzou told him holding out a stuffed manila envelope which Sai took. _

"_How am I to make contact with him?" _

"_You won't be making direct contact, not with that girl's kekkai genkai around. Orochimaru said that he would leave u a clear message and to simply leave it where indicated. It's time that the root of Konoha takes hold!"_

-----End Flashback-----

Checking that his team was not paying attention, Sai removed the folder from a secret pocket of his uniform and dropped it to the ground. Turning to follow his team, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a snake emerge from the soil, pick up the folder in its mouth and disappear into the forest. Smiling at completing his task, he quickly caught up to the others.

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After returning to the home of the Daimyo and getting the ANBU medical attention from his medic-nins, the caravan set out for Konoha noticeably tenser than before the discovery of the injured ANBU team. It wasn't until two days later that the members of Yuugao's team awoke cognizant enough to tell them what occurred.

"Running into Sasuke was no accident." Yuugao began. "He knew we were coming. Hell, he was waiting for us."

-----Flashback-----

_Coming to a halt in surprise, the ANBU team stared in shock at the figure blocking their path. It was Uchiha Sasuke, prodigy of his generation, possessor of the Sharingan, and traitor to Konoha. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, not even looking at the ANBU team though it was clear that he knew they were there. He looked much the same as the last time any of those present had seen him in the Chuunin exam finals. Taller now, his hair was longer, though the two bangs still framing either side of his face. The most notable difference was the outfit he now wore: loose white shirt tucked into dark pants held up by the purple rope that Orochimaru is so famous for with a katana attached diagonally behind him. _

"_It's about time you got here." he stated simply._

"_Uchiha Sasuke." Yuugao addressed him. "For crimes against Konoha you must come with us."_

"_I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for one thing, to test myself." came the emotionless response as he unsheathed his katana, black marks of the cursed seal spreading across his face. _

_Drawing her own katana, Yuugao signaled her team to attack. As Yuugao jumped forward to engage Sasuke directly, the rest of her team broke off to their assigned roles for such a fight. As she approached, she slipped into a stance with the sword held parallel to the ground, tip resting on the thumb of her left hand pointed towards her opponent. As the distance closed to about half of what it started she called out "__**Gatotsu!**__" thrusting the blade forward in what appeared to be a stabbing motion. A 'bullet' of chakra launched itself from the tip of her sword rushing at Sasuke at rapid speeds._

_Twisting to avoid the attack, Sasuke heard "__**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.**__" and found himself in the path of a large fireball. This was one of the standard attack patterns for Yuugao's team and, as always they were performing it flawlessly. _

_Sharingan blazing, Sasuke flashed through handseals of his own casting "__**Fuuton: Kami Oroshi**__." A vortex of wind travelled from Sasuke directly at the approaching fireball. Unable to go upwind, the fireball changed direction, increasing in size thanks to the fanning of the flame by the wind._

_Dodging as quickly as possible, the castor of the flame jutsu was unable to fully avoid his own, amplified jutsu and he received some painful burns for his failure. Not giving Sasuke to go on the offensive, all three female members approached Sasuke the moment the fireball was no longer attacking him. Coming in high, Yuugao went for a cross-slash, attempting to cleave Sasuke from his shoulder to his waste while each of the others went for their own strike with kunai._

_Blocking the katana strike, Sasuke called out "__**Senei Ta Jashu.**__"__ A dozen snakes emerged from his other sleeve coiling around the arms of the other two attacking women halting their attacks and holding them in place. He followed up with "__**Chidori Nagashi!**__" as lightning surged from his entire body, striking all three ANBU members in range, electrocuting and burning them leaving them temporarily paralyzed at his feet. _

_Before he could press his advantage, a muffled "__**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu.**__" was heard below him and he jumped backwards as a hand came shooting out of the ground beneath him seeking his leg. The moment his feet touched the ground, he ducked and spun to his right to avoid a hail of kunai and shuriken from the final member of the team. Catching his eye, Sasuke cast a genjutsu on him making him believe that he had been stabbed through by Sasuke's blade. _

_As the nin dropped to his knees and screamed in perceived pain, Sasuke turned his attention to the final standing ANBU who had just attacked him from below and flashed through a several handseals and with a "__**Fuuton: Daitoppa**__." all five ANBU were sent tumbling by a massive concussion of wind, crashing heavily back down to earth breaking bones._

_Turning to leave, Sasuke was surprised to hear movement behind him. He turned back to see Yuugao pull herself back to her feet. Picking up her discarded blade and drawing a second, she rushed him in a flurry of strikes. Proving why she was so well respected Yuugao actually began to push Sasuke back (even with his sharingan) with her superior speed and kenjustu. With one final thrust she broke his guard and her sword pierced his chest. _

_Looking at the skewered log at the tip of her blade, she looked around for the missing nin. "You're better than anticipated." she heard Sasuke say from her left. Turning to face him she saw the last of his skin covered in the cursed seal forming a cross shaped mark over his nose. His skin was now dark, his nails had lengthened, and like some sort of monster he had two wings extending from his back. "But this is as far as you go."_

_  
She knew all about the cursed seal having learned of its capabilities from the Hokage after the Sasuke retrieval mission. With that information in mind and considering the relatively even ground they had been fighting on, she knew she had little chance of winning this fight now if it dragged out. Her only chance was to try to end it with the next attack. "__**Nito-Ryu:**_**_Nana-Jyuu Pound Hou_****_." fired a slash of wind towards her opponent who, as she expected dodged. Already in motion, she was upon him immediately and with a cry of "_****_Karazuma Gari_****_." she unleashed a multi-hit combo on Sasuke who, in a blur of speed blocked every blow. The final result was a deadlock with Sasuke easily blocking a both of her swords with his one own._**

_With a whispered "__**Chidori Eisou**__." A blade of lightning extended from his unoccupied hand, piercing her abdomen. Immediately the strength left her as she felt blood leaving her body at a rapid rate. Not showing mercy on his opponent, Sasuke unleashed a multitude of taijutsu strikes on her limp body eventually dropping her unconscious form next to her comrades._

-----End Flashback-----

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The rest of the trip passed without incident and despite her constant searching, Ino never once could locate Sasuke with her Mantra. Arriving in Konoha, mission completed, Yamato released the three Gennin telling them to get some rest, for the Chuunin exams were set to begin in two days.

* * *

A/N: Well, there you have it. Short chapter, I know, but we finally get our first look at Sasuke. Personally, I am not a Sasuke fan, but I'm not going to bash on him _too_ badly, he does deserve to be a strong shinobi. If I manage to get some work done on this today/tomorrow, I'm going to try to post chapter 9 on Wednesday. Otherwise, look for it on Friday. R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Gatotsu**-Attack much like that used by Saito Hajime in Rurouni Kenshin. Fires a projectile of chakra from the top of the thrust.

**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**-Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique

**Fuuton: Kami Oroshi**-Wind Element: Godly Wind from the Mountains

**Senei Ta Jashu**-Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands

**Chidori Nagashi**-Thousand Birds Current

**Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu**-Earth Element: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique

**Fuuton: Daitoppa**-Wind Element: Great Breakthrough


	10. Chapter 9: First Date

A/N: Sorry I didn't put this up on Wednesday. I've been super busy and fighting with my computer since Sunday trying to shake a couple of nasty viruses. Needless to say, I managed to get very little work done on this story in the meantime. Thanks as always to Leafy for her beta work. Without further ado, here's chapter 9:

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 9**

The mood in the Hokage's office was tense as Tsunade listened to Yuugao's recount of the fight with Sasuke. She had, of course, met the caravan at the gates to greet the Daimyo and, after seeing to his every need, ordered the ANBU and Yamato to her office for a debriefing. Despite the gravity of the situation, as a medic, Tsunade first checked over the team for any injuries, healing any that had been overlooked or not completely healed.

"And that's what happened Hokage-sama." concluded Yuugao. Glancing around the room to find the rest of the members nodding to her in confirmation of the story, Tsunade sighed.

"Thank you Yuugao. I'm sorry you and your team were injured. Take the next day off, but I need each of you ready for the Chuunin exams."

"Hai, Hokage-sama" the ANBU team saluted and left.

Turning to Yamato, Tsunade said, "I need you to update the bingo book. While a C rank may have suited Sasuke when he first defected to sound, if I'm to believe Yuugao's report, Uchiha Sasuke must now be treated as a powerful, hostile threat. As Hokage, I declare Uchiha Sasuke an A-rank missing-nin to be killed on sight."

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Nine days before Naruto and company returned to Konoha in a dark room of an underground fortress sat a solitary figure. "Welcome back Sasuke-kun." it said, turning to look at the shadow that had silently entered his chambers. Taking in the appearance of his subordinate and future vessel, Orochimaru couldn't help but smirk. '_Not a scratch on him. Against five seasoned shinobi…and they called me a genius. At his age, even I would have fallen to him.'_

"Here is the folder." Sasuke said simply dropping the folder on the table next to Orochimaru. "Now, teach me the jutsu you promised me!"

"Kukuku…Patience Sasuke-kun, patience." he chided. "I have a couple things to take care of; I shall show you in a bit."

With a frown, Sasuke turned to leave. "I'll be in the training room. I would suggest you hurry unless you wish to lose some of your precious few Jounin."

Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips in appreciation. He truly loved that boy. He had a mean streak that could rival his own and his one-track mind caused him to train tirelessly, sculpting him into the perfect host for Orochimaru. '_Soon.'_ he thought, turning his attention to the files Sasuke had delivered.

Opening the envelope, Orochimaru began to scan the documents enclosed. His eyes widened. Oh yes, this was perfect. Standing, he moved out of his chambers-he had events to set in motion.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Staring down at the file, the massive robed figure couldn't suppress a twinge of excitement. While he may not like the self-appointed Otokage, the man was incredibly good at obtaining information-information that not even the best of his spies could catch whispers of. While he wouldn't trust the snake as far as he could throw him,

Turning to his attendant the Raikage ordered. "Get Nii Yugito immediately." There was little time to prepare, but it looked as though he would be sending a team to Konoha's Chuunin exam after all…

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

At around the same time, in another part of the world, the news brought by the Otokage was not met with the same enthusiasm. "Impossible!" shouted an imposing figure.

Rushing into the office at his superior's shouts, the attendant found the normally unflappable Tsuchikage seething in anger, his desk lay in ruins. "What is it sir?!" asked the attendant.

Tossing the file to his most trusted advisor, the Tsuchikage said, "I will be taking my team to Konoha for the exams. That man's blood must be wiped from this Earth!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

The day before the Chuunin exam, Naruto woke early in excitement. No he wasn't excited about the exam and his nearly guaranteed promotion. No, it wasn't that he was once again backin Konoha. No, today was his first ever date with one Haruno Sakura.

With time to spare before he was to meet Sakura for lunch, Naruto decided to simply wander the town a bit. Though he'd only been back for a day, Naruto could already clearly tell that his confrontation with the villagers when he first returned from his training trip spread throughout the village. Rather than the hate-filled glares he was used to receiving, he found fear in the eyes of most and, in a small subset, apology and shame. None had the gall to approach him, but the change in attitude surrounding him was a pleasant one. Making his way leisurely to his team's training ground, Naruto's keen eyes noticed many shinobi from different villages apparently in Konoha for the exams.

Forming the familiar cross-shaped hand seal, Naruto was just about to form some clones to work on some various tasks for him. Sensing someone behind him, he turned to find none other than Yamanaka Ino. Smiling at her he said, "Ino-chan, what brings you here?"

Quirking an eyebrow at the new suffix, Ino responded in turn. "What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here? Don't you have a big date soon?"

Chuckling, he continued their little game of questions, "Sakura told you, huh?" Seeing her nod he continued. "Yeah, we're going to Ichiraku in about an hour."

"So I repeat…what are you doing _here_. Surely you're not planning on training beforehand?" She posed the last statement as a question with a dangerous look in her eye.

"Er, no?…of course not?" Naruto backpedaled. "I was just coming out here to make some clones to work on a few projects of mine while I did other things today."

Slapping herself in the forehead, Ino rounded on him. "Now, you listen here mister!" she yelled, "Doing something so rude is unacceptable! I will not allow you to ruin this for her." Looking him up and down she growled "And _surely_ you weren't planning on wearing _that_."

Looking down at his attire, Naruto didn't know what to say. "What do you mean, I always wear this."

"Exactly!" she said, getting exasperated. "You have to dress up-wear something different to show that you care." Seeing the clueless expression on his face, she grabbed him by the front of his jacket and began to pull him along behind him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Just over an hour later, Naruto found himself seated in front of the hospital waiting for Sakura to get on her break. The previous 60 minutes was a swirl of colors and fabric as Ino took him on his first ever shopping-with-a-girl experience. And so, it was a dazed Naruto that Sakura found waiting for her. Noticing the look on his face and the new attire he had on, she couldn't help but laugh. "Let me guess, Ino?"

Noticing her for the first time, he turned and with a sheepish smile said, "Yeah…that girl's a nightmare! Are all girls so terrifying when shopping?"

Laughing at him, she slugged him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't call her a nightmare, she's a good friend. Besides, you look great…she did you a favor."

"You look great too Sakura-chan!" he said automatically making her smile. Then, actually looking at her attire he noticed she too had dressed up for their date. With a smile, he silently thanked Ino for her assistance. "Really though, what's the occasion?" he asked with a wink indicating her outfit.

With another laugh and slap on the arm, the two headed to Ichiraku.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Entering the tent, Naruto couldn't help but grin. While training with Jiraiya, he had managed to kick his complete dependence of the stuff, as far as he was concerned, ramen remained the single greatest food on the planet. Waving towards the friendly old owner, Teuchi and his daughter, he steered Sakura towards a table in a corner where they could have some privacy. Passing a group of Cloud nins, Naruto had a peculiar feeling. Turning to look at the group more closely, when he focused on the sandy-blond-haired Jounin with them and he could hear Kyuubi inexplicably growling in his cage. Unable to contain himself, Naruto uttered a deep, quiet growl. As if sensing his eyes on her (which likely, she did), the kunoichi turned to him and snarled at him with a raised lip.

With a light tug on his arm from Sakura, the moment passed and both looked away, turning back to their respective business. "What was that?" asked a surprised Sakura.

Blinking, he answered, "Sorry about that. I honestly have no idea. I've never seen her before. But, there's just something about her that rubs me the wrong way." still unable, to fully shake the feeling of aggression the kunoichi inspired. "It's strange though, I didn't think Cloud nins attended our Chuunin exams, at least…not since the Hyuuga incident."

Shrugging, Sakura replied "That's true, but it's not like they're not invited. It's been over 10 years; I suppose it was bound to happen eventually."

"Yeah…" said Naruto, his thoughts interrupted by the waitress coming to take their order. With the moment passed and the hairs on the back of his neck settling again, Naruto turned the conversation back towards topics more befitting a date. "So, Sakura-chan, you heard about my journeys, but I've yet to hear about how you spent the last few years. Fill me in."

Smiling at the question, she obliged. "Well, for the sake of time, I'll give you the short version. After you left, I was the only remaining member of Team 7 still in Konoha. For the sake of team dynamics, I was assigned to Team 10. Although, we were really only a team in name-we never took missions together or anything. Ino and I had a long discussion the day after you left. We both realized that our approach to shinobi life up to that point just wasn't cutting it. In the end, I approached Tsunade-shishou and basically demanded to be made her apprentice and, for whatever reason, she accepted. Training under Tsunade-shishou was brutal, but I certainly can't fault the results. Sadly, between my training and Ino's own, we missed the next two Chuunin exams. Those were both held in Kirigakure and only Neji and Shino made Chuunin that year even though Lee finally beet Neji in their fight in the finals. It wasn't until the exams in Tsuchigakure when Tsunade-shishou actually allowed me to participate in the exams again. Since Ino was content in her ANBU duties and decided to wait for your return to take the exams again, Chouji and I joined Tenten under Gai-sensei for the exam. I actually managed to get to the finals in that exam, defeating a Grass nin in the preliminaries. It's a good thing I had Tsunade-shishou's training in medical jutsu or the poisons she used would have done a lot more damage." Sakura laughed thinking back on the look of shock the Grass kunoichi showed as she removed the poison-tipped senbon with apparently no ill effects.

"Unfortunately, my first match in the finals, I fought Hinata. She and Lee made Chuunin that exam and I learned first hand just why the Jyuuken is so feared. I made Chuunin along with Kiba in the next exam which was held in Suna. I actually won the tournament-style finals, beating Kiba for the title." She made a peace sign sticking out her tongue in victory. "After that, I've just mainly spent my time training with Tsunade-shishou and working in the hospital. I've actually started thinking about taking the Jounin exams soon."

"Wow Sakura-chan!" exclaimed an impressed Naruto when she finished. "That's amazing; you've really become strong haven't you?"

Her eyes shining with emotion, Sakura nodded and said with conviction, "Yeah…I've been training hard. Next time I see Sasuke-kun, I _will_ bring him back to Konoha!"

The smile on Naruto's face immediately disappeared and his voice gained a dangerous edge to it. "You should really forget about that traitor. If I have anything to say about it, the only way he'll be coming back to Konoha is in a body bag."

Looking as though she'd been slapped, Sakura faced Naruto. "How can you say such a thing?! He was your best friend we're supposed to bring him back and reunite Team 7!"

"Was being the key word." spat Naruto opening his shirt. "There are some wounds that never heal and cannot be forgiven." he said, indicating the scar adorning his chest above his heart. Anything more that the two may have had to say was cut short as a massive killing intent washed over them.

* * *

A/N: A little bit of a cliffy. The next chapter will be out on Monday. Though I haven't progressed very much over the last couple weeks, I did manage to pump out a detailed outline for the next _many _chapters, so hopefully progress will be faster now.

Jutsu Library:

None for this chapter.


	11. Chapter 10: Final Preparations

A/N: And, here it is. Relatively short chapter, but this seemed like a good stopping point. Besides, the next chapter is a bit longer, and fairly dense. I doubt that I'll get that chapter out until Friday-it's a very busy week for me with exams and papers. As always, thanks to leafy for her wonderful beta work. R&R. Enjoy:

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 10**

Instantly on alert, shinobi senses going into overdrive, Naruto dropped into his taijutsu stance and turned towards the source of the killing intent. At the entrance to the tent stood a very tall man covered entirely in what appeared to be red battle armor comprised entirely of straw. On his back was a turnip-shaped protrusion from which smoke was issuing. His head was covered by red sakkat and the lower part of his face covered in a fashion similar to Kakashi. The only part of his face exposed were his golden eyes which were at that moment blazing in anger at Naruto.

"What?" asked Naruto. "Who are you and what do you want. What do you want?"

"Your days are numbered _Uzumaki_." ground out the Rock nin through clenched teeth, identifiable by the headband tied around his forehead, through clenched teeth. Quirking an eyebrow at the manner in which the mystery shinobi said his name, Naruto simply held his gaze. Without another word, the shinobi turned and exited the tent.

Nii Yugito frowned. She had initially been excited to find the ramen stand-she would be the first to admit that the noodley goodness was her one vice. But, ever since that boy had entered, all of her senses were on edge, the feline in her screaming to fight or flee. The feeling had gotten far worse when the Rock nin had entered. There was something inexplicable about both of them that immediately got under her skin without even speaking a word to either. She couldn't shake the feeling that her mission has just gotten much more complicated.

Adrenaline wearing off as the Rock nin left, Naruto turned back to Sakura who was still sitting stock still looking at the scar on his chest. "I'm not the same naïve kid I used to be. Sasuke betrayed all of us and Konoha. The sooner you let go of your fantasy of him, the better off you'll be."

Nearly in tears at Naruto's words, Sakura said "I really need to get back to the hospital. Thanks for lunch." With that, she excused herself and rushed out of the stand.

Sighing to himself at how quickly things had gone down hill, Naruto excited as well, only to collide with something soft and, in a tangle of limbs, and up sprawled on the street. Looking down, he found that he was now lying on none other than Hyuuga Hinata. Extricating himself from her quickly he pulled himself to his feet and offered her his hand to help her up. "Sorry about that Hinata-chan, didn't see you there." Naruto offered up weakly in apology.

"I-It's fine." She stammered out, embarrassed.

"What are you doing here anyways Hinata-chan."

Hinata blushed. In truth, she had reverted to her old habits of following Naruto. She had mixed emotions about seeing him on what appeared to be a date with Sakura. While she certainly wished she was the one out with Naruto, she was glad to see him happy. She had come a long way in three years. Now a respectable Chuunin, she still had her kind heart, but was far more sure of herself than she had once been. Even so, she didn't want to admit her reason for being there. However, after seeing the group of cloud nin with her byakugan, she actually did have a matter to talk to him about.

"I actually have a favor to ask of you Naruto-kun." she said moving to a more secluded area of the street and motioning for him to follow. "Not many people know this, but my sister, Hanabi, will be taking part in this year's Chuunin exam. Normally, I would never ask this of you; she's a strong girl who is quite capable of taking care of herself. However, could you possibly just keep an eye on her? As I'm sure you're aware, my family's not had very good relations with Kumogakure. With Cloud nins in this exam, she could be in real danger."

"Of course Hinata-chan, not a problem." he responded with a warm smile. Despite herself, his smile melted her composure causing her to blush, look down, and begin to poke her fingers together.

"T-Thank you Na-Naruto-k-kun." she stuttered.

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, I'm out of here; I've got some things to take care of before tomorrow." With a wave, he vanished. Despite his keen observational skills and training with Jiraiya, Naruto was still clueless when it came to women.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile in the Hokage tower…

"It's a pleasure to meet you Tsuchikage-sama." Tsunade addressed the man who had just entered her office. Unlike the Hokage's robes, the Tsuchikage was covered head to toe in black robes, only his eyes could be seen through a narrow slit below his hat. In truth, she had know idea who the man was. The Yondaime, Namikaze Minato, had killed the Sandaime Tsuchikage during the Third Great Shinobi War (something which had gone a long way towards ending the war) and his replacement still remained a mystery.

"You as well Hokage-sama." he replied equally respectfully.

"Not that I don't enjoy your company, but I was not expecting to see you here for these stages of the exam. It's highly unusual for another kage to enter the hosting village unless their shinobi make it to the finals." she replied respectfully but at the same time accusatorily.

"Please Hokage-sama," chided the other kage. "I mean no disrespect. I am merely here accompanying my team. I have been teaching them since they became Gennin and as their teacher, I felt compelled to watch them through these tasks like any Jounin sensei."

Despite the friendly tone and sound reasoning, Tsunade remained cautious. It was just far too coincidental for the first Cloud nin teams to enter Konoha-held exams in 10 years as well as the last minute addition of the Tsuchikage's personal team to occur in a single exam.

"Of course Tsuchikage-sama." She replied, having to maintain appearances. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Konoha. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you."

"Thank you for your hospitality Hokage-sama. I look forward to these exams; they should prove most…interesting."

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The next morning, Naruto met his team outside the academy and were on their way inside when Naruto was met by an unwelcome face. Motioning to his team to continue without him, Naruto turned to the figure.

"Why are you here Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

Raising his hands in a placating manner, Kakashi simply said, "I'm just here to offer you good luck. I've come to realize that I do not deserve to call myself your teacher, but as your one-time superior, I wish you the best. Should you desire my aid in training for the finals, please let me know. I've made mistakes with you in the past that I cannot correct, but I do hope that we can at least be civil with each other in the future."

With a nod at the gesture, Naruto proceeded inside and up to the second floor. He was reminiscing about his last time taking this exam until he stepped out onto the second floor landing and found a truly interesting sight. In the middle of the hall stood Ino with two young men unconscious at her feet and a crowd of Gennin huddled as far from her as possible.

"You do realize that this was just a test to eliminate those too green for the exams, right?" he asked her indicating the two unconscious forms.

"Sure, but they attacked me when I laughed at the performance they were giving." She grinned, "Besides, I don't mind a bit more competition, do you?"

Sighing, he motioned for them to follow and proceeded to walk up to room 301. Entering, Naruto noticed that not much had changed in the three years he was gone. The room was still packed with Gennin from various countries, most of which looked nervous and on edge. These were the ones that no one of note paid attention to. No, it was the shinobi who appeared to have not a care in the world that would be the dangerous ones. Despite knowing that he was far above Chuunin level, Naruto couldn't help but scope out those who fit this profile. A few jumped out including both teams from Kumo and the team from Iwagakure with the shinobi who ran into Naruto yesterday. The latter of which was glaring at Naruto and, if looks could kill, he would have ceased to exist.

"Hey bro!" came a voice from behind him.

"Eh?! Konohamaru?! What are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"Duh, the Chuunin exams! My team and I got nominated. We're the only rookie team participating this year." he said, indicating his two teammates.

"Congratulations!" Naruto replied making a mental note that Konohamaru and Hyuuga Hanabi were on the same team. "You must've really grown up in the last three years if you think you can compete in the same exams with someone as awesome as me."

Laughing at Naruto's feigned narcissism, he responded "Yeah, well, I'll try not to show you up too badly."

Before anything more could be said, with a boom and a puff of smoke, a group of Konoha shinobi headed by none other than Nara Shikamaru appeared.

"It's time. From here on, there will be no fighting until I say so. Anyone who breaks this rule will fail immediately, no exceptions. Everyone, follow me; the Chuunin exams have now begun."

* * *

A/N: For those of you who were wanting/expecting a fight, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there is _plenty _of fighting coming up in the next few chapters. This chapter wasn't particularly fun to write, but is important in order to set up a couple of things for down the line. For those of you who reviewed wanting more NaruIno fluff, it will be coming. As I said at the top, look for chapter 11 on Friday.

Jutsu Library:

None for this chapter.


	12. Chapter 11: Chuunin Exam: First Test

A/N: Ok, so here we go with the first test of the Chuunin exams. This test would i'm sure be completely impossible for anyone reading this story, but please just accept the fact that they're ninjas and have been trained differently than us. Additionally, the test is somewhat complicated and, if you were to consider japanese, doesn't work the way I describe, but please just accept that as well. As always, thanks to my beta for all of her work.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 11**

The first test of the Chuunin exam began familiar enough. Just like last time Naruto attended, each person was designated to a seat in a large auditorium separated from the rest of their teammates. And, much like last time he was handed a paper test which was designed to test their knowledge and reasoning. Unlike last time, however, he was not in the least bit worried. Having expected such a routine, Naruto had hatched a plan.

"You may begin at any time, but I would highly recommend that you listen to my instructions first." began Shikamaru once everyone was prepared. "The rules to this test are a bit different from those you've had in the past. I'm not going to write these down, nor will I allow any questions, so pay close attention. Despite your seating arrangements, this is a team exam. You will either pass or fail as a team, no exceptions. There are 10 questions to this exam, each question being worth one point. I absolutely cannot tolerate cheating so should one of our proctors catch you," he indicated the seated Jounin lining the aisles, "your team will lose four points. Should any member's possible score reach zero during the test, the entire team fails. That's right, getting caught cheating will not only destroy your own chances, but those of your teammates. As shinobi trying to reach the rank of Chuunin, be proud ninjas. This exam will last 2 hours, but I will only reveal the 10th question after the first hour has past." Glancing around the room he added, "For those of you who were here three years ago, I would recommend you not confuse myself with Morini Ibiki." seeing the overconfident expressions drop off a few faces at that he smirked. "Very well, Begin!"

Turning the paper over, Naruto smiled. Sure enough, he was completely unable to answer even a single question. Despite the fact that his time with Jiraiya greatly increased his interest (or at least acceptance) of book learning, their time focused on generally more useful knowledge of jutsu, ninjas, or strategy than something that would be found on a test like this. Looking around the room he found that several others had realized this as well, the smarter of these were recognizing the purpose behind the strange rules. With a more thorough sweep, Naruto was surprised to find that unlike the previous Chuunin exam, this time there were no plants to provide the answers. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto looked deeper, finally finding three shinobi writing diligently and pausing at exactly the same time. They weren't too difficult to spot as, due to the difficulty of the questions, they were three of the few actually writing anything. Naruto couldn't help but smirk when he noticed how Shikamaru's shadow split three ways, each tracing their way under the desk in the direction of the progressing Gennin.

Turning back to his test, he figured it was time to put his plan into motion. Being sure that he memorized each and every question, he raised his hand. Seeing Shikamaru quirk his eyebrow in his direction he said, "I have to go to the bathroom." with a sheepish expression on his face. With a nod from Shikamaru to one of the other Chuunin proctors, he was led out of the room. Entering the bathroom, Naruto immediately puffed into smoke as the clone released itself. Another Naruto appeared in the stall, having henged itself as a plunger (which fortunately, noone had needed to use).

Reentering the testing room, Naruto simply sat back and waited, occasionally filling in the answers as the army of clones he left in the library managed to locate and solve each question before dispelling themselves. Having successfully completed the nine questions provided, Naruto began to look around, noticing some of the more inventive manners in which the assembled Gennin had decided to obtain the answers.

For Sai, this task was relatively easy. Sitting only two rows back from Naruto, he saw Naruto's completed test and, with a few brush strokes and a whispered "**Choujuu Giga**." a snake made of ink emerged from his test, hidden by his concealing arm. The snake raced down his body and up Naruto's racing quickly over his page and back to Sai. Having completed it's task, the snake returned to Sai's paper and lost its form, leaving only the answers on Sai's test.

All around the room, Gennin cheated off nearby Gennin. Some did better than others and, as time progressed, more and more teams were eliminated having been caught cheating three times. Much like last time, Ino used her family's '_**Shintenshin no Jutsu**_' to silently to get the answers from an unsuspecting nin in front of her, this time masking her body's unconsciousness with a quiet "**Kokohi no Jutsu**." Some of the Gennin used wires to move mirrors to view the answers. Others used genjutsu techniques to hide their wandering eyes. Others still used familiars or kekkai genkais to view the tests around them.

"An hour has passed." said Shikamaru suddenly, interrupting the silence. "Congratulations to all of you who have made it this far. I will now give you the tenth question, so pay close attention." Standing up he wrote on the board:

"The rules are simple." he continued. "In order to pass the first part of the exam, your only task is to solve this cipher. In order to solve it, you must understand the origins of the previous nine questions, as well as their answers. All the information you need to solve these ciphers can be found within this exam, so cheating will not be tolerated from here on out. Attempting to do so will result in immediate expulsion from the exam. Play fair. Once you have answered the question, please bring your test up here and then feel free to leave, you have one hour."

Ino smiled; trust Shikamaru to turn a test about information gathering into a test of decoding and logic. The moment Shikamaru had said 'In order to solve this cipher,' she (along with many others) immediately began to write down everything he had said. It was a good thing too, for the words contained many different clues and meanings. Being in ANBU had drilled it into her head the usefulness of ciphers and the ability to decode them and learn secrets they may contain.

Looking back on the speech that Shikamaru had given her eyes kept coming back to 'Play fair.' It had seemed so unnecessary to say that it kept jumping out at her. Suddenly, it came to her and her eyes widened as she thought, '_it's a_ _playfair cipher_.' Rewriting the random letters of the code into pairs, Ino now had:

AT BE ON CZ QN PC RA YM TQ OI QY KM OM NH FE PM CU LN AO AQ BA EV CO HU CU HN QR KH QY

'_Okay, but a playfair cipher is absolutely impossible to solve without the keyword._' she thought to himself. Looking again at what Shikamaru had said, she read '_you must understand the origins of the previous nine questions, as well as their answers_.' Well, she had no idea where whoever wrote the test may have gotten the questions from, she certainly didn't recognize any of them. But, confident that her answers were correct she decided to start with that and wrote them down together:

1) 3

2) 5

3) 2

4) 26

5) 2

6) 7

7) 22

8) 2

9) 1

Unable to gleam anything from the numbers, she checked back with Shikamaru's words. Sure enough, there it was, hidden amongst the seemingly innocent 'All the information you need to solve these ciphers can be found within this exam.' '_These ciphers_.' She thought. Again, had he said 'it' or 'this' or even 'this type of cipher' it would not have seemed strange. However, by saying _these ciphers_, he had actually implied that there was more than one cipher to decode.

Looking back at her answers, it hit her…it was a substitution cipher. The highest number in her answers was 26 meaning that the Roman alphabet could be represented with each number 1-26 corresponding to a letter. Of course, this could be as simple as A = 1, B = 2,…, Z = 26 to incredibly complex. Deciding to try to the most basic, she plugged in A = 1, B = 2,…, Z = 26 giving her:

CEBZBGVBA

Clearly, that didn't form a comprehensible code word. Looking at the time, she clearly didn't have nearly enough to try every possible substitution that Shikamaru could have come up with. Again referring to her notes, she found the only clue she had yet to make use of was 'you must understand the origins of the previous nine questions.' Still unable to think of where the questions could have come from, they had never been taught them before, Ino began to sweat. Her eyes focused back on the 'All the information you need to solve these ciphers can be found within this exam' and she stopped and smirked. Of course Shikamaru would hide double meanings in his instructions. The word 'origins' had been throwing her as it immediately made her try to think outside the information provided in the exam. Of course, origin doesn't just mean where the questions originated, it could also refer to the _beginning _of something.

Writing down the first letter/number of each question, Ino was left with:

ROT13NSUB

Her eyes widened. It looks like she was on the right track. Rot13NSub was a commonly used abbreviation for a simple cipher taught to even academy students which stood for Rotate 13 number substitution. In other words, N = 1, O = 2,…,A = 14,…,M = 26.

Applying the Rot13NSub to her answers gave her:

PROMOTION

'_YES!_'she silently cheered. Confident that she had now found the keyword required for breaking the playfair cipher, she went about solving the ridiculously complicated 10th question.

Drawing out the required 5x5 grid starting with the keyword-repeated letters removed- first she had:

P R O M T  
IJ N A B C  
D E F G H  
K L Q S U  
V W X Y Z

From here it was a simple matter of applying the four decryption rules for each pair letters in the original cipher and she was left with:

Reading from left to right, she added spaces and removed the erroneous letter 'X's and grinned as she read what was left:

CONGRATULATIONS YOU PASS PROCEED TO THE ROOF AND WATCH THE CLOUDS.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. Next chapter's a bit of filler, but the plots begins to interweve soon after. Look for it on Monday.

Jutsu Library:

**Choujuu Giga**-Super Beast Immitation Drawing

**Shintenshin no Jutsu**-Mind Body Change Technique

**Kokohi no Jutsu**-False Place Technique


	13. Chapter 12: Chuunin Exam: Second Test I

A/N: Sorry the post's a bit later than normal. I just managed to fix my internet about 10 mins ago after my modem died. Thanks to Leafy for her beta work as well as all my reviewers. As always, R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 12**

Naruto frowned as he watched Ino exit. He couldn't believe it but, despite being overqualified for the rank of Chuunin, it seemed as though he was actually going to fail this test. During his time with Jiraiya Naruto had worked on both coding and decoding various ciphers, but even that seemed to not be enough to crack this code. Recognizing Shikamaru's obvious hint about it being a playfair cipher, Naruto had once again used his bathroom trick claiming "What can I say, it's a stressful exam." when questioned by Shikamaru. Regardless, every bit of information came back the same-he needed the keyword and just couldn't figure out where to find it. No sooner had he started to panic did a kunai land in the middle of his test.

"You two, get out of here." came Shikamaru's stern voice. This was not the first time such an occurrence had happened since the issuing of the tenth question, but Naruto had just assumed they had been caught attempting to cheat. Glancing up at the other who had been kicked out, he found the confused face of Sai.

"But…" began Naruto.

"No buts, my word is final." Shikamaru cut him off. With a nod to one of the other Chuunin proctors, Naruto found the two of them being escorted from the room.

As the door closed behind them, the Chuunin turned to them and said, "Congratulations, your team has passed." Noticing the two gaping like a fish he decided to explain. "As was explained at the beginning of the test, teams either pass or fail together. Judging by your surprised expressions, I'm assuming the third member of your team has correctly decoded the cipher. Report to the roof to meet her, the second exam will begin from there." he said indicating the stairs. And, with that, he reentered the testing room.

Glancing at each other Sai simply shrugged and the two began to walk towards the stairs.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Arriving on the roof, Naruto and Sai found well over a dozen teams sitting around in idle chatter. Spotting Ino on the far side of the roof, they made their way over to her. Noticing their approach, Ino flashed the two a victory sign before launching into a discussion with them on the paper test and how the final problem was solved. After about another 20 minutes, the paper test ended and, much like last time Naruto had taken the exams, Mitarashi Anko appeared on the roof in a flashy manner: banner, kunai, and explosions included.

Naruto laughed at other Gennin as many of them dropped into battle positions at the apparent sign of assault. But, the very obvious banner which read: "Second Chunin Exam test proctor, Anko Mitarashi, is here!" caused most of them to relax, albeit slightly. Of course, Naruto's carefree attitude immediately grated on Anko and, with a sense of deja-vu, she chucked a kunai at him aiming to knick his cheek. Naruto was, of course, expecting this, having dealt with Anko before and dodged only for Anko to once again appear behind him, this time catching the kunai and holding it to his throat.

"I thought we were through with this a few years ago." she purred into his ear. "What exactly is so funny, might I ask?"

"Just you, Anko-san. You never change. I'm amazed you can still pull off those clothes at your age." He replied, baiting her. She pressed the kunai slightly deeper into his throat for the implied, though playful, insult and growled as, with a wink, the Naruto she was threatening burst into smoke.

"So, since you're the examiner, let me guess...training area 44?" asked a voice from behind her.

Turning around she found none other than the insufferable blond casually sitting with his teammates. Deciding that she had already wasted enough time (and actually finding that she liked the kid's cheekiness), Anko nodded and, addressing the other Gennin said, "For those of you who haven't figured it out, I'm Mitirashi Anko, your proctor for the second exam. Follow me, we will be proceeding immediately to the location for the second exam." With that, she jumped off the roof to a neighboring one, the assembled Gennin close behind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Sure enough, Anko led the group to the ominous and forboding training area 44. "Welcome to training area 44." she said, indicating the fenced in forest behind her. "Better known, of course, as the forest of death." She grinned as she saw several of the Gennin gulping or shaking slightly. "22 teams. That lazy bastard didn't cut you down nearly as well as I had expected. Oh well, I'll just have to be sure to thin out these numbers. Now, the rules for this exam are simple. Each team will be provided three scrolls each of which displaying the name of the person who is to be carrying it. Within each scroll you will find the name and picture of a target from another Gennin team. In order to pass, your complete team must reach the center tower within five days with at least one pair of scrolls: a team scroll and the contained target's scroll. However, the tower will only be open after three days, so each team must spend a minimum of three days in the forest regardless of when you obtain a target scroll. In this test, fighting with other teams will be permitted, as well as killing your opponents. There are many ways to fail this exam: should your team not reach the tower with the required scrolls within five days time, lose a team member in the forest due to combat or poor survival skills, or leave the forest at any time, you fail. Are there any questions?"

"Five days?!" asked a frightened Mist Gennin. "We weren't told to prepare for an extended survival mission."

"Exactly." smirked Anko. "This is designed to test not only your team's battle prowess and ability to track targets while evading pursuers, but your ability to deal with unforseen circumstances. Anything else?" Seeing no more hands raised she continued, "Good. As there will be deaths in this exam, you all need sign these waver forms." indicating towards the forms various Chuunin were carrying. "Once your team has all signed their form, proceed towards the tent where you will receive your team scrolls as well as the gate from which you will begin." Anko couldn't help but grin at the frightened or apprehensive looks many of the Gennin were displaying.

Seeing Konohamaru's apprehensive look, Naruto moved over next to his long time friend. "Hey," he called, causing Konohamaru to turn his attention towards him "what's with that look?"

"Hey bro." he replied quietly lacking all of his normal enthusiasm. "Honestly, I'm just not sure I'm ready for this. I have confidence in my abilities and those of my teammates and we're certainly strong for rookie Gennin, but...I'm just not sure I'll be able to survive a fight with an experienced shinobi."

"Relax." Naruto instucted. "Most Gennin here aren't going to be out for blood. Besides, this is just one necessary step on the road to Hokage. Not to mention, I'm here, and I'll be sure to keep an eye on you guys." he said, patting the boy on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks nii-san." Konohamaru replied and smiled as he signed his form.

Walking back towards his team, Naruto watched the cloud Gennin out of the corner of his eye. '_Oh yes,_' he thought, '_they're certainly focused on Konohamaru's team. Looks like Hinata may have been right._'

Eventually, all of the assembled Gennin had signed their forms and proceeded to their assigned gates. And, with a horn sounding, the second test of the Chuunin exams began.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

"So, what's the game plan?" asked Ino as the trio walked casually into the forest.

"Well, we have two objectives for this test. Obviously, we need to gain a target scroll so we can pass this section, but we also need to find the rookie Konoha team as soon as possible."

"Why do we need to find them? Do you have one of them as a target?" asked Ino opening her scroll to see her target.

"No. Well, at least I don' know. Regardless, that's not why we need to find them. Hinata approached me yesterday. She seemed concerned that the fist Cloud teams to participate in Konoha's Chuunin exams since the Hyuuga incident coincides with her sister's participation." seeing his teammate's nods of understanding Naruto continued, "And, after observing the Cloud teams, I think she's probably right-they've been eyeing that team even before getting their target scrolls. This test would be the best opportunity for them to pull something without repurcussions."

"Are we really going to waste our time trying to find your boyfriend and the Hyuuga bitch? They're big kids, they can handle themselves."

"Sai..." said Naruto turning his full attention to the boy. When he saw Sai's questioning he promptly decked him hard across the face sending him flying until he crashed to the ground. "Yamato's not here anymore, there's noone here with authority over our team. Do you really think I'm going to put up with your shit? If you make so much as one more comment that pisses me off, you'll be finishing the remainder of this test unconcious." Naruto turned his attention back to Ino.

"Do you really think you can follow through with that threat?" he heard Sai ask as he picked himself back up. Naruto just continued to ignore him, but Sai felt a tap on his shoulder. Whirling around, Sai was once again introduced to Naruto's fist.

"Last warning," he heard Naruto say as the clone vanished.

Looking back at Ino, Naruto found her grinning. "I've been wanting to see that for a long time now. Anyways, I guess we should start by finding the rookie team. If your predictions are correct, then we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone, my target's one of the Cloud Gennin anyways." she said, showing him her scroll. "But how're we going to go about finding them? It's a big forest, and I neither the rookie Leaf genning nor either cloud team are within the range of my Kekai Genkai."

"Don't worry, I placed a couple henged clone on Konohamaru before the exam began." seeing Ino's raised eyebrow he explained, "Yeah, I got the idea from seeing Shino fight in our last exam. Anyways, one of the clones dispelled itself just before the exam began, so we at least know where they're starting-over at gate 12 it seems. I figure we'll head in that direction until your Mantra is able to pick them up. On the off chance they manage to give us the slip, I've got another clone that'll dispell itself if they run into trouble."

"That...is actually a well thought out plan..." stated a surprised Ino. Very well, onwards to gate 12, I'll keep watch around us with Mantra to ensure that we don't meet any other teams in the meantime."

"Perfect." Naruto agreed and with that the two set out towards their destination, Sai following close behind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

'_Things were not going well_,' thought Konohamaru. When Hanabi spotted the Cloud team with her byakugan, Konohamaru had been excited. They were only thirty minutes into the exam and they had already found a team with one of their target scrolls. Of course, the other team was far from helpless and their coordinated ambush wasn't nearly as effective as they had hoped. This was not a team of wet-behind-the-ear Gennin. No, the Cloud team had clearly had plenty of experience, and the battle quickly became relatively even with each of the Leaf Gennin battling one opponent for dominance. Of course, when the other Cloud team suddently appeared, the situation quickly went from managable to fight for your life. There wasn't even time to escape as, even if one of them could pull it off, that would simply leave the others out to dry.

None of them had been able to land more than a glancing blow against their opponents. Hanabi was performing admirably, fighting against three opponents with relatively minor injuries. Of course she was clearly worn out and low on chakra as the Cloud Gennin were primarily fighting her from a range so as to avoid her Jyuuken, forcing her to use Kaiten repeatedly. He, himself was battling two of the Cloud Gennin from the first team, but he was quickly losing ground being at the disadvantage as well as having sustained a nasty burn to his side from a Raiton jutsu he was unable to avoid. Chansing a glance towards his third team member, Isikawa Amado, Konohamaru found him even worse off, beaten and bruised, his right arm dangling uselessly from his side, and a black burn encompasing the same shoulder. It was quite clear that his fight had been decided-the boy was barely conscious.

Seeing the Gennin's distraction, the Cloud Gennin pressed their assault. Twirling his bo staff around expertly, Konohamaru proceeded to deflect another hail of kunai and shuriken. He was once again thankful for the wooden instrament, as each of the projectiles were charged with electricity that would have been conducted by metal weapons such as swords or kunai. Jumping back to give himself some space, Konohamaru called out, "Wait!...Which of our scrolls do you need? You've clearly won this fight, there's no need for us to continue."

The two Gennin he was fighting looked at each other, then back at him, and broke out laughing. "Clearly you haven't realized the situation you're in. We're not in the least bit interested in your scroll. Your team isn't even one of our targets." replied the taller of the two.

With that, the brief reprive ended and, without warning, the other had flashed through hand seals and called out, "**Raiton: Raihari no Jutsu**."

Using a quick Kawarimi, Konohamaru evaded the lightning needles, but then was forced to Kawarimi again almost immediately as the other Cloud nin sent a "**Raiton: Raidan**." in his direction almost immediately after he regained his bearings. Looking around for his opponents, Konohamaru found one of them practically on top of him, kunai raised. Dodging the strike, Konohamaru attempted to strike him with his staff. Overextending himself slightly to land the blow, he was completely unprepared when the ground beneath him exploded upwards to reveal his other opponent-leg already glowing with electric chakra. "**Raiton: Raizume**." was the last thing he heard before his world exploded into pain.

Pain. Pain like nothing he had ever felt raced through Konohamaru as the kick connected. Opening his mouth he released an anguished cry as thousands of volts surged through him, frying him inside and out. The moment felt like an eternity, but thankfully for him, his body shut down and he was blissfully unconscious before his body even hit the ground.

* * *

A/N: And there we go, a bit of a filler chapter, but in the next chapters we see movements by Akatsuki and Orochimaru and a lot of fighting. For those looking for NaruIno fluff we'll be getting some of that soon enough as well. This and the next few chapters are a bit longer than the last couple have been. I'm taking a poll though, I can either keep posting like I've been doing (Monday and Friday ~2000 words per chapter) or I can begin to post longer chapters less frequently (5-10,000 word chapters likely every other week). Let me know either by reviews, or by messaging (however that new feature works) and I'll go by the highest votes. For now though, look for chapter 13 on Friday. Also, I personally like having only the Japanese for the jutsus, but if people would rather I add the English translations as they appear in the chapter, I will be glad to do that as well, so please leave me your thoughts. As always, R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Raiton: Raihari no Jutsu**-Lightning Element: Lightning Needles Technique

**Raiton: Raidan**-Lightning Element: Lightning Bullet

**Raiton: Raizume**-Lightning Element: Lightning Hoof


	14. Chapter 13: Enter Akatsuki

A/N: Here's chapter 13, a little longer than usual. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 13**

Moving swiflty through the forest, the Jounin rapidly closed in on her destination. The Raikage truly had come up with a brilliant plan-after all this time, Kumo would finally obtain one of the world's most powerful kekai genkai. Having expected both the paper test as well as a relatively unsupervised survival test, each of the six Cloud Gennin were outfitted with tiny, relatively undetectable communication devices from which they could communicate with each other, as well as with Yugito, the only Jounin sent with the two teams. It was thanks to this planning that they were able to easily pass the first exam (able to communicate while appearing to merely be mouthing to themselves) and coordinate the attack on the Hyuuga's team.

Not ten minutes ago, her teams had completely overwhelmed the Leaf gennin. The Hyuuga girl's byakugan was all but in their grasp and she was the only one left standing, albeit barely thanks to chakra exhaustion. Then that _boy_ and his team apparently showed up and in under a minute had defeated both of her teams in a surprise attack. Even with the element of surprise in their favor, she was surprised that her teams had lost. They were the best Gennin that Kumogakure had to offer, most of them more than qualified for Chuunin rank. For them to lose so easily against another Gennin team was certainly worriesome. Still, the Raikage had planned ahead for such an eventuality, that's what she was here for-if anything went wrong she was certainly the most qualified to ensure the success of this mission. Afterall…who can fight off a Jinchuuriki?

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Slowly, very slowly, Konohamaru opened his eyes. His whole body ached as a lingering after affect of the lighting jutsu he had been hit with. He was certainly shocked by what he found upon glancing around. The last thing he expected to find was a pile of unconcious Cloud shinobi tied up with a still relatively unharmed Hyuuga Hanabi sitting next to them, fast asleep.

"Oy, Konohamaru, you awake over there?" asked a voice from his left.

Turning, ever so slightly so that he could see the source of the voice, Konohamaru inquired, "Naruto-niisan?"

"Yeah, sorry we were a little late…" replied Naruto with a somber look.

"Relax Naruto, he'll be fine. I'm pretty sure there won't be any lasting damage." came Ino's voice from his other side. Shifting ever so slightly, Konohamaru found her tending to an unconcious Amado, treating his arm with salves and bandaging it.

"Why does my body hurt so much?" asked Konohamaru.

"It's just a side-effect of lightning jutsu. In this case, the voltage caused every muscle in your body to contract simultaneously. The severity of the muscle contractions themselves would be enough to cause you to be sore for a few days, but add to that the fact that several muscles, such as your biceps and triceps have conflicting motions, and you ended up with some muscle tears. I patched you up as best I could with my limited medical jutsu I learned from Sakura. As far as I can tell, all the actual damage is gone, you should be fine within a day or two." replied Ino.

Nodding at the explanation, Konohamaru continued, "How long was I out?"

"Only about 10 minutes-we got here just as that kick hit you." answered Naruto.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible." came Sai's voice from behind the group of Cloud Gennin. Seeing the questioning looks of the remainder of the group, he elaborated, "I found communication devices on each of them, they're broadcasting to an external source, so it's entirely possible that this situation was planned and there may be additional shinobi coming."

Despite the situation, Naruto smiled. Ever since his little warning earlier, Sai had been relatively tame, even bearable. "Good work Sai, well then, let's get a move on, we'll head back the way we came. Ino, make sure we aren't going to run into any other teams." With a puff of smoke, several clones appeared, three picked up one of the exhausted rookies and the remaining one leafed through the Cloud nins' possessions, finding and taking the scrolls for both his and Konohamaru's targets. With their task complete, the Leaf Gennin vanished from the area.

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She heard, rather than saw or sensed, the approach of what she assumed would be a minor inconvenience. Moving as silently as she was able to and with her shinobi-trained senses, the slight ringing of the bell was clear as day. Halting, she said, "Go ahead and come out, I know you're there." Despite her rush, it was a trifle exercise to knock off a Gennin team-wouldn't set her back more than a moment or two and her presence in the forest needed to remain unknown to the anyone.

With her keen senses, she noticed the incoming rush of a projectile and, dropping low, avoided it. A large, red, triple scythe passed over her head. As it passed, she found that it was connected to a large chain and, with a flick of her assailant's wrist, the scythe changed direction and once again headed for her, this time in a slash towards the ground. Rolling out of the way once again, Yugito came out of the roll in a defensive stance standing to face the attacker.

"Hmmm…still not quick enough. You've got some good reflexes, even if my attacks are the slowest in Akatsuki." came a voice in front of her as two shadows made their way into her view. Black cloaks with red clouds, bamboo kasa adorned with bells, ringed fingers, painted nails, and slashed forehead protectors-they certainly fit the bill of Akatsuki.

"_Shit_." thought Yugito. This was definitely not what she needed right now.

"Hidan, be careful, this is the Nibi's jinchuuriki. Let your guard down and you're dead."

"Why do you tell me that every time we fight someone? You know as well as I do that that's not an issue for me. Excuse me for one moment while I offer a prayer to Jashin."

"*sigh* There you go again. Must you do those stupid prayers all the time?"

"Shut up Kakuzu." yelled the first, before continuing his prayers. Finished muttering to himself, he continued, "I may not like it either, but the dogma of faith is strict about this stuff. Besides, I need to pray more than ever as this mission goes directly against my teachings. After all, carnage is a central part of the faith of Jashin, intentionally keeping someone alive just doesn't sit well with me."

"I really don't have time for this." interrupted Yugito. "I have more important ways to be spending my time. But, now that I know that you're Akatsuki, looks like I have no choice. I swear by the name Nii Yugito, I will kill you."

"Kill us? Battle cries like that always irritate me. And irritation makes me want to just slaughter everything. You're making it really difficult for me to follow our mission and intentionally leave you alive."

"Shut up Hidan, our orders are everything." Kakuzu interrupted his rant.

"There is an easy solution to all of this." Hidan said, thoughtfully. Turning his full attention to Yugito, he continued, "Why don't you just let us capture you?"

"Don't fuck with me!" screamed Yugito having had enough of the strange pair. Launching herself off the tree she was on, she rapidly approached the pair.

Smirking at her approach, Hidan flicked his wrist, returning his scythe to his hand and jumping to meet the oncoming attacker, swung it forward attempting to cleave her head form her shoulders. Pulling out a kunai, Yugito blocked the strike and, using her superior speed and flexibility, twisted to bury the kunai to the handle into the left side of Hidan's chest. The initial threat taken care of, Yugito jumped over Hidan, placing her foot on his shoulder and pushing off towards the other Akatsuki member hands already flashing through seals. "**Raiton:**" she called, lightning chakra rushing through her hands. Suddenly, sensing an approach from her right, she was forced to interrupt her jutsu and duck low to dodge, surprisingly, the same scythe from before. '_Impossible. I'm sure I pierced his heart._' she thought finding the source to be none other than Hidan, kunai still protruding from his chest.

That moment of surprise cost her as a porcelain mask extended itself from Kakuzu's back to point over his shoulder. With a few hand seals and a cry of "**Fuuton: Atsugai**." from Kakuzu, the mask issued a powerful wind blast which slammed into Yugito with the force of a truck sending her crashing across the ground. Immediately pressing the advantage, Hidan rushed the kunoichi's prone form scythe once again raised in preparation. With a gleeful smile on his face, he brought the scythe down towards Yugito who was just beginning to stir. His smile disappeared however, as his progress was suddenly halted as the air pressure began to rise and a blue chakra laced in shadow encompassed Yugito's form. With an explosion of chakra, Hidan was blown backwards and looked up to find where once stood a simple kunoichi now an easily 30 foot demon cat stood above them. Demonic chakra surged, blanketing the forest with killing intent.

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As Yugito's demonic killing intent washed over the forest, the majority of the Gennin within found themselves frozen with fear. This was not a fear that they could just shake off, but one that immediately began to seep into their very souls.

Within the village, villagers close to the forest began to cry in anguish as the power washed over them reminding them of the events of 15 years past. Even back in the Hokage tower, the monstrous amount of chakra being emitted could be felt.

"What the hell is that?" asked a shocked Tsunade, halting from her paperwork and glancing towards the source of the disturbance. From where she stood she could just make out the tips of the demon's twin tails peeking out over the treetops. Immediately, a full contingent of ANBU appeared in her office. Pointing to one team she said, "Find Jiraiya and tell him to come support us. The rest of you, with me, it appears that there is a jinchuuriki loose in the Forest of Death." With that said, she jumped out the window to the neighboring rooftop, ANBU team in hot pursuit running at top speed towards the demonic presence.

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Seeing the retreating forms of the Hokage and ANBU, a man made his way out of the shadows of a nearby building. Jumping onto the side of the Hokage tower, he effortlessly scaled the building, silently entering the window into the Hokage's office. Finding it deserted, as expected, the shinobi proceeded through the secret side door which brought him into the Hokage's private residence. Entering the private library, the man began to shift through the multitude of scrolls. Finally finding the one it was looking for, the man grinned in triumph. Adjusting his glasses, Yakushi Kabuto grabbed the scroll, carefully replacing those which had been moved and began to make his exit. He smirked; Orochimaru's plans were coming together perfectly.

-----Flashback-----

"_Kabuto, I have an assignment for you." Orochimaru said sweeping into the lab._

"_What is it Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto replied instinctively._

"_I have just received some very interesting information from our good friend Danzou." Orochimaru elaborated. He didn't need to explain that 'good friends' was about the furthest thing from what he and Danzou were. He had every intention of stabbing the old war hawk in the back at the earliest possible convenience. Not to mention he had no doubt that Danzou felt very much the same way. But, for now, the man certainly had his uses, not the least of which being that his information network was second to none-not even Jiraiya could claim to have his hands in half as many jars as Danzou. "Whether he intended to or not, he has provided us with several golden opportunities. First off, I need you to ensure that these two folders get delivered to the Raikage and Tsuchikage, respectively. Each of them will find the contents priceless and we will obtain ourselves the beginning of respectful relationships with them. This could of course come in handy for the future. More importantly, Kumo will doubtlessly send the Nibi's container to Konoha along with some Gennin to further their quest for the byakugan. From what Danzou tells me, Akatsuki is on the move which means they will likely target her while she is in Konoha should they get the opportunity. Use the distraction to obtain the Scroll of Sealing-it apparently, amongst other things, contains information on this retched seal."_

-----End Flashback-----

Exiting the tower, Kabuto couldn't help but feel exhilarated as he made to exit the city. '_It won't be long now…Soon Orochimaru-sama will be back at full strength._'

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What is with this jinchuuriki?" asked Hidan pulling the kunai from his chest. "It's turned completely into its biju."

"We need to make this fast Hidan. With that amount of demonic chakra, the Konoha nins' will surely have noticed."

In an instant, the demon was directly in front of Kakuzu, clawed paw already descending to strike. Flashing through hand seals, Kakuzu activated his '_**Doton: Domu**_.' As his already tanned skin darkened and turned black, like asphalt, he reached up with both hands attempting to stop the beast's thrust. For half a second it seemed as though it worked as the paw's momentum ceased momentarily, but the sheer force of the blow caused the ground beneath his feet to crumble and the Akatsuki member was crushed underfoot into the ground.

This all happened so fast that it was over before Hidan could even move to assist or attack. Dodging the stones kicked up by the explosion of force, he began to charge towards the towering form, only to find himself looking into the beast's jaws. '_Uh oh…_' he thought as a swirling vortex of flames flashed to life within the demon's open mouth. Feeling the heat of the flames wash over him, Hidan jumped out of the way as best he could, receiving only minor burns.

'_So, this is the two-tailed demon cat._' thought Hidan, hiding behind a tree. Unfortunately for him, with the increased senses provided by the Nibi's chakra, Yugito was able to sense his position. Without any warning, shadows burst through the surrounding foliage, piercing his body from every angle.

Turning her attention away from the skewered man, Yugito stepped back, checking the condition of Kakuzu. The moment her foot left the ground, a gigantic fireball filled her vision. Immediately conjuring up another flame like the one used against Hidan, she attempted to counter the incoming attack. Shockingly, her attack proved insufficient to counter Kakuzu's flames and the gigantic cat was blown backwards, singed. Staring down at the Akatsuki member, she found not the man's body, but a being made of what appeared to be black wires with two masks sitting side by side. Sweeping both of her tails at the creature, managed to strike it with the second as it dodged the first, sending it crashing away. Turning in search of the missing Akatsuki member, Yugito felt cold steel enter her leg. Looking down she found the apparently impossible to kill Hidan with his scythe buried in her left hind leg.

His initial smirk to triumph disappeared as he removed the weapon to find that he had merely pierced the chakra projection of the demon cat which was encompassing her body, so no true injury remained. No torn muscle, no blood, nothing to even slow down the enraged jinchuuriki.

"**Raiton: Gian**!" came Kakuzu's voice from nearby. Surprisingly, a massive bolt of lightning erupted from the air above the transformed jinchuuriki rather than from where the jutsu had been called from. Ill prepared, Yugito's massive form was encompassed in lightning driving the cat into the ground and momentarily stunning it. Using this paralysis to his advantage, Kakuzu jumped from his position onto the back the downed cat, black strings extending from sewed joints which appeared to be poorly holding his body together. Worming their way through the chakra projection as though through water, Kakuzu's threads began to search out Yugito's body's position.

Standing up and stretching after being caught up in Kakuzu's blast as well, Hidan felt himself get struck from behind. Using his hand to flip back to his feet, he turned to face his attacker only to find the dead eyes of what appeared to be a human many years ago. What little skin remained on the body was slowly peeling off even as the creature stared at the surprised Akatsuki member.

Yugito, it seemed, while unable to physically move herself, had utilized the ability that the Nibi no Neko-mata was so famous for-manipulating the dead. Sending her shadow into the earth beneath her currently prone form, she latched on to the decomposing beings from Chuunin exams past and bent them to her will creating her own, personal miniature army.

Back with Kakuzu, he had finally found the physical body of Yugito contained within chakra construct that they had been fighting. But, no sooner had his threads begun to wrap around her was he struck from behind by something very powerful and heavy sending him careening off of the cat's back, his threads pulling against the body actually snapped, but not before digging into Yugito's skin. Once again activating his '_**Doton: Domu**_.' Kakuzu and his attacker crashed into the ground.

Emerging from the hole, Kakuzu found himself standing almost directly next to Hidan and surrounded by a myriad of zombies-some human like the one in front of Hidan and some animal like the tiger which had jumped on him. Without warning, the dead creatures attacked, moving surprisingly fast. Only a moment after engaging in a furious taijutsu match with them, Kakuzu skidded backwards holding the jaws of the same tiger as Hidan attempted to slaughter the already dead ninjas. "Enough!" shouted Kakuzu, using a kuwarimi with one of his masked creatures. "**Katon: Zukokku!**" he shouted as the fire elemental released a blast from its mouth which quickly expanded in all directions, obliterating the army of undead. Jumping back next to his partner, he wiped the blood that stained the ends of some of his threads onto Hidan's scythe. "Hidan! End it, but don't kill her!" He called as he saw the cat getting back to its feet.

Ignoring the charging demon, using the blood still dripping from the wounds he had received, Hidan quickly formed a circle containing a triangle, the symbol for the Jashin religion, around himself. Licking the blood from the scythe, his skin began to turn black with the exception of where his bones were which showed as white giving him a skeletal appearance. Removing a metal stake from within his cloak, he quickly drove it into his own chest. Not an immediately killing blow, but one that would cause the victim to quickly lose blood, strength, and eventually their life if left untreated.

With a roar of pain, the demon cat crashed to the ground, the chakra immediately dissipating leaving only Yugao-bleeding profusely from the hole in her chest which matched the one Hidan was sporting-who immediately collapsed to the ground in a heap. The entire battle had taken less than 10 minutes.

Picking up the rapidly draining body, Kakuzu said "Let's go. You complete your ritual once we're clear of the area, I need to ensure that this girl isn't going to die on us." With that, the two disappeared from the scene.

By the time the Konoha shinobi arrived, the battle was over and the area was a wasteland. Small fires still burned around the clearing which showed obvious signs of battle, but there was no sign of the demon, jinchuuriki or otherwise.

* * *

A/N: And that'll do it for now. A little bit of both Akatsuki as well as Orochimaru. I'm still looking for more input on what everyone wants in terms of both new chapters and jutsu (see previous chapter's A/N for more details). As always, R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Fuuton: Atsugai**-Wind Element: Pressure Damage

**Doton: Domu**-Earth Element: Earth Spear

**Raiton: Gian**-Lightning Element: False Darkness

**Katon: Zukokku**-Fire Element: Head Mincing Pain


	15. Chapter 14: Chuunin Exam: Second Test II

A/N: Hi all. Sorry for the long wait. I actually had this written for awhile now, but just found myself unmotivated to continue. Fortunately, I think I've got some motivation to write back so hopefully I'll be getting out chapters more frequently than this one. Unfortunately, having started my dissertation work, I find myself with far less free time so chapters will likely not be out as frequently as before. Thanks as always to my beta Leafy and enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 14**

It had been 24 hours since the demonic presence had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared and Naruto was still shaken from the experience. Granted the reason he was shaken wasn't the demonic presence itself-while quite powerful, it was nothing compared to the power that Kyuubi possessed. No, the demon couldn't have been much stronger than Gaara was in his Shukaku form. What scared Naruto was how quickly the demonic chakra had disappeared. Being a jinchuuriki himself, he knew that channeling that level of the demon's chakra took some time release one couldn't simply turn it on and off like a light. That left only one option left: that it was snuffed out, and that was what had Naruto disturbed. The most likely explanation was Akatsuki as it was already known that they were after the jinchuuriki despite their extended disappearance. Their presence in the forest would also explain why the other jinchuuriki felt it was necessary to fight at that level in a test full of Gennin.

Pushing these thoughts to the side momentarily, he turned back to the more pressing matter, the exam they were currently in. Having obtained all the scrolls necessary to pass the second part of the exam his team had taken to avoiding (or at least send a group of clones to lead away/distract) the remaining Gennin using Ino's kekkai genkai as there was no actual reason to fight them. The group of rookie Gennin were on the mend, Ino's knowledge of basic medical ninjutsu proving to be a godsend. With the exception of Amado (whose injured arm required actual medical attention and remained in a sling) they'd all be at full strength before they headed for the tower the next day.

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Throughout the forest skirmishes were occurring as the various Gennin fought each other to obtain the required scrolls to proceed to the next exam. Each team had their own strategy for how to survive their time in the forest. Some teams simply sought out every team they could find, counting on their abilities and superiority over the competition to allow them to eventually find a team with the required scroll. Other teams decided to lie in wait, avoiding other teams for days as they proceeded towards the tower or sought the position of the teams of their targets, saving their strength until the exam was nearly over to assault their targets once they were weak from the survival training and other fights. Other teams still stumbled across their targets early on and proceeded much like Naruto's team, avoiding the competition as best they can until the tower would open and allow them entry. Finally, some teams set up traps and/or prepared ambushes, hoping to use these to their advantage.

One such team, a team from Kusagakure, was doing just that. Having silently tracked down the camp of the team containing two of their three targets, they lay in wait, preparing traps should things go sour and planning their ambush for when the opportunity best presented itself. Just as they were planning to move in, an unnatural mist began to fill the clearing from the opposite side. '_Kirigakure no Jutsu?_' they each thought, recognizing the jutsu oftentimes used by Mist shinobi. Deciding to lie in wait as the events played out, the Grass shinobi watched as a team from Kiri made their way into the clearing disappearing into the fog.

Being too far away to hear any jutsu being called out, the Grass nins listened to the sounds of battle coming from the clearing but muffled by the mist. Not three minutes into the assault, anguished screams could be heard from within the mist followed by sudden, blood freezing silence. As the mist began to clear, the observing Gennin started at the scene. There, in the middle of the clearing stood a single Iwa Gennin, red armor and Sakkat drenched in blood, emotionless golden eyes surveying the area. Surrounding him was nothing more than blood and an assortment of body parts (nearby discarded headbands identified as belonging to the ambushing Mist ninjas). The earth of the clearing was kicked up, and contained deep gouges in many places, one of the bodies was still smoldering slightly.

Fear, like nothing they had ever felt before gripped each of them. Looking at one another in silent conversation, the trio of Kusa nins unanimously decided that it would be a better idea to go after their third target…and get as far from this monster as possible. Glancing one last time into the clearing, they found the ridiculously tall Gennin staring directly at them. All pretext of subtlety gone, the Gennin turned to flee only to find the Iwa nin's teammates standing behind them. A moment later, the forest rang with their screams.

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Outside of the forest, things had been very busy. Taking the threat of the demon very seriously, Tsunade had ordered Jiraiya and one of her elite ANBU teams to stand 24 hour guard around training area 44, watching for any more signs of it with orders to stop the jinchuuriki at all costs. Before leaving, she and Jiraiya shared a lingering look. The signs of battle were clear-this was no Gennin level battle. The fact that no bodies (nor the remains of them) remained made it seem that the jinchuuriki had either lost the fight or, at the very least, not been entirely victorious. Therefore, unless Naruto had fought off this other demon (something neither believed to have occurred) then there were other threats in or near the city.

Reviewing all of the paperwork on the entrants to this year's Chuunin exam, Tsunade remained stumped. They all were accounted for (thanks to the tracking bugs placed by Aburame Shino and Shibi during the first exam)-none of them were in the area when the battle occurred. That means that at least two people had managed to slip by the normal security for the exams and that, was troubling to say the least.

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On the third day of the exam, Naruto's group began to head leisurely to the tower. They would be unable to enter until midnight, so they were in no real rush. Walking to maintain their stamina, the Gennin simply enjoyed the surrounding scenery. The forest was ancient with towering trees and a multitude of species, many of which long thought to be extinct. It was, however, also this aspect of the forest that made it so dangerous. In general, the species of this particular stretch of forest were larger than their counterparts anywhere else in the world making them even more dangerous. The forest was populated by carnivorous plants, venomous snakes, flesh eating leeches, and giant tigers. It was the latter of these species which Naruto and company ran upon during their trek. A half dozen tigers each taller than any of the Gennin emerged from the woods ahead of them.

"I'll take care of this." said Sai, stepping forward, paint brush in hand.

"Make it fast Sai, there's another team approaching, one of the Iwa teams. We won't be able to avoid them if this takes too long." added Ino.

"At that pace we're moving, we're not going to be able to avoid them anyways, teams like this one are blocking the routes to the tower, we'll have to go through them sooner or later." Naruto said with a strange expression on his face. "Besides," he continued with a grin which didn't reach his eyes, "I could use the warm up." With that and a nod from Ino, he began walking in the direction Ino indicated for him.

"Will Naruto-san be okay?" asked Amado. He was very worried about the boy's ability to defeat an entire team singlehandedly.

"Don't worry about him, you weren't conscious when we arrived to begin with, so I understand your skepticism, but Naruto-kun is strong." smiled Ino towards the boy. She started, surprising herself with her use of the '-kun' suffix. Shrugging it off the surprise, she continued indicating the tigers, "Besides, we've got more pressing matters at the moment."

Naturally, the direction Naruto was moving in took him directly through the ranks of the tigers impeding their progress. Not paying them any mind, Naruto simply began to walk passed them, each one turning to watch the human's movements when suddenly one turned and pounced at him. Not even looking at the attacking animal, Naruto shifted slightly to his left, dodging the blow and continuing as a tiger made of ink bowled over the threat. The animals, noticing the assault on one their own turned towards the source, teeth bared only to find their path blocked by several tigers of ink. In the confusion, Naruto disappeared into the forest.

As it turned out, the ink beasts were no match for the larger, and stronger, tigers of the forest. Within minutes, each of them had been demolished, at best having caused superficial wounds, leaving only pools of ink littering the ground. It was thus a surprise when three of the tigers suddenly halted in their approach of the Gennin and collapsed unconscious.

"What just happened?!" asked a shocked Konohamaru.

Seeing the collapsing tigers, Sai simply grinned, ignoring the other Gennin's question, his brush moving rapidly over the scroll he was holding. "**Choujuu Giga**." he called as another six ink beasts emerged and attacked the somewhat weary remaining tigers. However, just as before, these were slaughtered by the animals who remained completely unscathed. It was, however, simply a distraction which used the ink tigers to draw attention from the other threat, a trio of snakes made of ink which slithered their way across the ground and up the limbs of the animals, burying their fangs into the tigers. Very quickly, these too collapsed the ground leaving the group's way unimpeded.

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Meanwhile, after passing the tigers, Naruto quickly picked up his pace to move the battle away from his teammates and the other Konoha Gennin. Arriving in a clearing suitable for battle, Naruto stopped and waited for the Iwa team to arrive. He didn't have to wait long as the team emerged from the foliage ahead of him.

"About time you got here." Naruto said casually drawing their attention to him.

"You!" screamed one the Iwa nins, his expression going from smug to one of hatred instantaneously.

Noticing this, as well as the mirrored expressions on the remaining two Iwa Gennin, Naruto sighed. "There it is again. Every time I've come across one of you Iwa nins in this exam I get that look. And yet, I've never met an Iwa shinobi before let alone done anything against your country. Care to exaplain?"

"It's your blood." One of the other Gennin replied. "_His_ cursed blood runs through your veins. Your very existence is an insult to us, _Namikaze_."

"Oh? So you found out." Naruto responded casually. "Well, that's one less secret to keep I suppose."

"It's certainly fortuitous for us to come across you here while you're all alone. Prepare to die!" added the third Iwa Gennin who then, without warning threw himself at Naruto, weapons drawn.

Dropping into a loose fighting stance, Naruto waited for the nin the approach but was surprised when he halted his advance just before getting within his field of reach. The previously approaching Iwa nin jumped straight up as a volley of kunai and shuriken approached Naruto concealed by the approach. '_A very good attack pattern,_' thought Naruto noticing the nin that had charged him preparing to hurl weapons from this apex of his jump should Naruto dodge, '_but not good enough_.' Flashing through hand seals he called out "**Fuuton: Kamaitachi**." The winds picked up, causing the projectile weapons to be blown harmlessly away as the cutting technique surged on towards his airborne opponent.

Naruto was impressed, however, as one of the Gennin jumped into the air to his teammate. Each twisting their bodies, they placed the soles of their feet together and bending their knees, pushed off dodging the whirlwind. Leaning his body to the side, Naruto dodged a taijutsu strike from his third opponent noticing the rock which now covered the boy's hands. Striking out instinctively, as the boy sailed past him Naruto blocked his incoming kick with one hand, placing his other hand on the boy's stomach, whispered "**Impact**." The attacking Iwa Gennin's momentum changed suddenly sending him perpendicular for the direction of his thrust-kick combo his eyes growing wide as the blow connected, he passed out crashing unceremoniously to the ground. '_One down_.' thought Naruto turning to the remaining two.

"Niijima!" called the sole Iwa kunoichi running to her teammate's side as the other finished his hand seals yelling, "**Doton: Retsudo Tenshou**" slamming his palm into the ground. The ground around Naruto began to churn and, in a whirlpool-like manner, began to draw the items towards the center where the pressure and rotation would crush them. In order to dodge, Naruto simply jumped sideways, out of the revolving mud. Judging his trajectory, the same Iwa nin flashed through some more hand seals calling out "**Doton: Doryuu Taiga**" as he tapped the ground with his foot.

Seeing his landing point turn into a river of mud with no chance of traction, Naruto quickly surveyed the scene to find the Iwa kunoichi already moving in behind a wave of projectiles, rock encompassing her fist. '_Let's see what they think of this._' he thought as he neared the ground. "**Geppou**." he whispered and, as though it were solid, Naruto pushed off the air, changing directions. Spinning his body he did this two more times in an instant placing himself behind the Iwa kunoichi and, before she could move to defend, knocked her out with a well-placed chop to the back of the neck. '_That's two._' Naruto smiled at the last Rock Gennin, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Somewhat winded from the exertion of two C-ranked doton jutsus in quick succession, the only conscious Iwa nin could only gape in shock as their combo not only was completely ineffective, but resulted in another member of his team incapacitated. "The hell was that?!" he asked, hoping to stall for a moment to regain his breath.

Humoring the final opponent, Naruto simply said, "Unfortunately, a shinobi doesn't reveal his secrets, less their enemies find a way to counter them. Shall we finish this?" Without waiting for an answer, he immediately rushed at the final opponent.

Flashing through hand seals, the Iwa Gennin decided to try one last combination to defeat this overwhelming opponent even if it would take nearly all of his remaining chakra. "**Doton: Doro Gaeshi**." he called out, slamming his palms on the ground. A large earthen wall flipped up in front of his hands obscuring him from Naruto's view.

The wall, however, did little to impede Naruto's progress as, without even pausing, a swirling ball of chakra appeared in his hand. "**Rasengan**." he called, allowing the jutsu to simply demolish the wall with little resistance. Though surprised, the Rock Gennin didn't panic and attempted to engage Naruto in taijutsu. Though, not being his forte, he was unable to land a single blow. With little difficulty, Naruto slipped within his guard and a simple "**Impact**." to the side sent him sprawling, seeming to end the fight. However, Naruto was not fooled, '_That was definitely not a human body_' he thought. Sure enough, the sprawled Gennin simply cracked and disintegrated from the place of impact. '_Tsuchi Bun__shin?_' he thought, surprised '_Then that means..._'

"**Doton Kekkai: Dorou Doumu**!" called out the final Rock Gennin, rising out of the earth as he finished his hand seals. When he quickly struck the earth, the earth overturned trapping Naruto inside a mouthless cave. '_It's over._' he thought relieved while panting. In truth, he was barely standing at that point, but the best part about his final technique was, after using it, he would be able to refill his chakra reserves with those of his opponent. Placing his hands on the dome, he began to do just that. His relief, however was short-lived as, no sooner had his hands touched the earth did his opponent come crashing out the other side. '_Impossible! He's a monster!_" was the only thought to run through his head as his strength left him and he fell to his knees.

"You're pretty good, for a Gennin-that would have certainly worked on nearly everyone in this exam. Unfortunately, I'm no normal opponent. Not to mention, I've seen this technique before." The Rock nin heard as the seemingly unbeatable opponent stalked towards him.

"Cheh…Just kill me, I'm not going to beg!" he yelled, not even having the strength to stand.

"Why would I kill you? I'm not my father, and this isn't the war. You just happened to be between my team and the tower and looking for a fight. Better luck next time." the blond replied vanishing from sight. The exhausted Gennin felt a sharp pain at the base of his neck and everything went black.

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Catching up to Naruto, the others found evidence of earth jutsus around the clearing and Naruto sitting casually on top of a rock staring up at the sky. "About time you guys got here, I've been done for almost five minutes." he said, not even turning to look at their approach.

"Eh, we weren't in a hurry, figured we'd let you have your fun." replied Konohamaru. "Where'd your opponents go anyways? Did they run off?"

"Naw, I beat the three of them and decided that rather than leaving their unconscious forms in the forest here, I'd send my clones to take them outside where it'd be safe. Granted, they'll fail the exam, but at least this way they won't die." shrugged Naruto.

With the final obstacle taken care of, the group of six made their way casually to the tower arriving just after midnight of the third day. Entering the tower, they found none other than one Umino Iruka waiting for them.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called out jovially, genuinely happy to see his long-time mentor and friend.

"Hey Naruto! About time you came to see me." he joked. "After this exam, you'll have to catch me up on all of your adventures over ramen, my treat." Turning his attention to all of the assembled Gennin as Naruto fist pumped in excitement, he continued. "Congratulations to all of you on passing the second stage of the Chuunin exams. As you're well aware, this stage doesn't end for another two days, so until then, each team has a suite of rooms here in this tower to stay in and rest. There's also a cafeteria on the second floor that's open 24 hours. So, go pick yourselves out rooms and get some rest, you'll certainly need your energy soon."

Nodding to their collective teacher, the six Gennin did just that. Two stages down, one to go.

* * *

A/N: And that'll do it for this chapter, a bit longer than usual. Hope you like it. Having completed the second stage of the exam we'll be moving on to a lot of fighting for the prelims, some training and fluff, and then a lot of fighting for the finals. That'll take us through at least the next several chapters. Only after all that fun is over will the major plot points begin to unfold. Keep looking for the updates and as always, please review as your comments are what keep me writing.

Jutsu Library:

**Choujuu Giga**-Super Beast Imitation Drawing

**Fuuton: Kamaitachi**-Wind Element: Cutting Whirlwind

**Impact**-Impact (Taijutsu move allowing user to deal massive, internal damage to opponent)

**Doton: Retsudo Tenshou**-Earth Element: Revolving Split Earth Palm

**Doton: Doryuu Taiga**-Earth Element: Earth Flow River

**Geppou**-Moon Step (Allows user to jump on air as though solid)

**Doton: Doro Gaeshi**-Earth Element: Mud Overturn

**Rasengan**-Spiral Sphere

**Tsuchi Bunshin-**Earth Clone

**Doton Kekkai: Dorou Doumu**-Earth Barrier: Earth Dome Prison


	16. Chapter 15: Chuunin Exam: Prelims I

A/N: Here's chapter 15, out on schedule, so enjoy. Thanks as always to Leafy for her beta work. I've had a couple of people ask me about Ino's involvement in ANBU while she's still a Gennin. As far as I'm concerned, ANBU is a division of the ninja corps and not a rank. We know that Kakashi, for example, made Jounin at age 13, became an ANBU capain for a time, and returned to being a Jounin. That made me think that ANBU is not a rank that someone keeps. Therefore, the members of an ANBU team would be selected by skill and not rank. Though Ino is still classified as a Gennin, she is actually at Jounin level in ability. For the purposes of my story, the majority of ANBU members are Chuunin.

**Chapter 15**

At the end of the fifth day, the teams which managed to survive the forest, complete their objectives, and make it to the tower assembled within said tower in the same room where Naruto had previously taken his exam preliminaries. In front of the assembled Gennin stood Tsunade, Jiraiya, Yamato, Kankuro, Shiranui Genma (the proctor from Naruto's previous exam finals), Neji and a man that Naruto didn't recognize but, judging by his robes, Naruto assumed to be the Tsuchikage. As the robed man's eyes fell on him, Naruto felt the air around him drop several degrees as the man's anger became almost palpable. A moment later the feeling disappeared as the Tsuchikage tore his gaze away.

As Tsunade once again proceeded to explain the hidden purpose of the Chuunin exams, Naruto surveyed the other Gennin to make it this far. Unlike last time he was here, there were only 5 teams remaining, apparently still too many to skip the preliminary step, but as before, only a single round of preliminaries would be necessary. The teams were basically what he expected: his and Konohamaru's team were a given in that they came in together, the Iwa team with the Gennin he met before the exam was there looking no worse for wear, a team from Suna was there which, given his other Chuunin exam experience didn't particularly surprise him, and finally, one of the Kumo teams apparently managed to make it through. Despite their defeat at the hands of his team (who were anything but your average Gennin), Naruto had to admit that, as far as Gennin go, the Kumo teams were clearly skilled, so it was no big shock to find them there.

Catching Jiraiya's eye, Naruto discretely used ANBU sign language to inform him '_Jinchuuriki in forest._' Not drawing attention to himself, Jiraiya simply nodded back to Naruto by a slight inclination of his head signaling that he was aware of the fact. Trusting in his mentor, Naruto turned his attention back to Tsunade as she was finishing her speech.

"The main tournament will feature the winners of the preliminary matches. As we have an odd number of people, one of you will be receiving a bye directly into the final stage of the exam. Each of the matches as well as who will receive the bye will be selected at random." she finished indicating a large TV which appeared as sections of the wall slid away. Gesturing to Neji she gave the floor to him.

Neji stepped forward to address the Chuunin hopefuls. The rules here are very simple: any and all techniques and weapons may be used. A match is decided when one of the opponents concedes, loses consciousness, or dies. However, to prevent needless deaths, if I decide a match has been decided I will step in. My word is final! Anyone attempting to continue a fight once I have declared a winner will be immediately removed from this exam. Is that clear?" he asked sternly surveying the crowd of Gennin. Seeing no objections he continued, "Very well, once the board selects the first matchup those two remain here. The rest of you proceed up to the second level to watch until it is your turn to fight."

Turning to the board, names began to cycle finally settling on: **Ishikawa Amado (Konoha) vs. Ureshii Mai (Suna)**

As he walked up towards the observation deck on the second floor, Naruto fell into step with Kankuro. "What're you doing here Kankuro?" he asked pleasantly.

"Like all the other Jounin senseis here, I'm here to watch my team in the Chuunin exams." came the response.

"Whaaaa? You're a Jounin instructor?!" he gaped. "I knew that you'd made Jounin, but come on, what kind of idiot would entrust you to teaching students?" Naruto quipped, clearly joking.

"Who knows, the new Kazekage was really insistent about it though, something about killing me if I refused." Kankuro smiled back.

"Ha! Please tell me you're not still scared of Gaara, he's harmless…sorta. Good luck to your team, I wonder how they'll do."

"Don't worry about my team, just hope you don't go up against one of them." Kankuro boasted, clearly proud of his team. Although, if he were honest with himself, he knew that they likely didn't stand a chance against Naruto.

Hearing "Begin!" from Neji, the two turned their attention to the match.

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Amado breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who his opponent was. Sure, he was on the best rookie Gennin team in Konoha, but it was his teammates that garnered them that name. He knew that he was an average Gennin, one which couldn't hold a candle to his teammates, let alone monsters like that Naruto and his teammates who effortlessly defeated the two Cloud teams that had all but crushed his team. Fortunately, fate seemed to smile upon him as he was paired up against a normal looking Suna kunoichi. The icing on the cake was the giant battle fan on her back gave away her specialization.

Of course, once the match got underway, he quickly retracted his opinion as the girl was wiping the floor with him. He began the fight by rushing her while pulling out a kunai hoping to bring the fight into close range taijutsu. While not his strongest skill, it's a generally good strategy against kunoichis as they naturally typically have shorter reach and less strength. However, no sooner had he jumped forward at approach her did she jump backwards, maintaining her mid range distance. Seeing her pull out something from her weapon's pouch he threw the already drawn kunai. However, before it could reach her, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke dropping the smoke bombs on herself both obscuring her vision and hiding her from view. Pressing his advantage, Amado tossed a hail of shuriken into the cloud of smoke hoping to catch her while her view was obstructed.

Instead of dodging the projectiles, the Suna kunoichi burst from the smoke, battle fan in front of her batting away the shuriken which came near her. Jumping backwards, Amado prepared himself for the incoming wind jutsu that was sure to come when the other Gennin opened her fan. What he wasn't prepared for was the the hail of senbon that came flying spring-loaded from the within as the fan's panels were revealed. Looking around quickly for something to kawarimi with, Amado panicked when his search found nothing. Shielding his vitals he dove to the side, hoping to get out of the volley of needles. Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky and found himself pierced many times by the small projectiles. Coming out of his roll, he immediately stood, already going through hand seals for one of the few jutsu he knew. "**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu**" he called sending a myriad of fireballs at his opponent.

Weaving in and out of the fireballs, with several unnatural movements, the kunoichi continued to close the distance between them. Having cast a bunshin while his opponent was distracted by the fireballs, the real Amado lay in wait obscured by the smoke his jutsu released. As the girl's cross strike with the folded fan went directly though his clone, Amado darted in to end the fight.

Without even turning her had or showing surprise that she was attacking a bunshin, the kunoichi pointed her arm at the boy approaching her from behind, more senbon shooting out from her sleeves at point blank range. With no time to dodge, Amado took the strikes directly into his sternum. Pausing momentarily upon impact, he took a quick inventory to ensure that nothing critical was hit before continuing his assault. Grabbing her roughly from behind, he placed a kunai to her throat. "Yield!" he commanded.

"Those senbon are poisoned you know." Amado heard from behind him. Whipping his head around, he had just enough time to see all three stars of a fully unfolded fan swing as he heard "**Futon: Kamaitachi**!" With that, his world went completely topsy-turvy as he was thrown bodily though the air. His mouth opened as a scream of pain couldn't help but escape him as blades of wind slashed at him from every angle cutting gouges across his skin.

Landing in a heap, Amado tried gallantly to drag himself to his feet, but he found that his body refused to comply. "By now the poison should have spread through your body. This match is over." he heard his opponent say as unconsciousness claimed him.

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"Brilliant strategy! Other than dodging that first kunai, she never was in harm's way the rest of that fight." Ino addressed Kankuro again as the match came to an end. "You certainly trained that one well."

"I agree. Despite being able to use the fan, wearing it obviously like Temari does even had me fooled as I assumed she wasn't a puppet user. Then, using the smoke to conceal her as she summoned the puppet she could sit back with a clear view of the fight. Hell, she even used the guy's own bunshin against him." added Naruto.

Grinning as Mai was announced the winner, Kankuro leaned in close to the two Konoha Gennin and whispered. "To be honest with you, she's my star pupil. If it weren't for you two, I'd say she'd be a shoe-in to win this tournament."

Hearing the board cycling through names, the three turned their attention to the most recent selection: **Yasuo Odori (Suna) vs. Kamizuru Tessei (Iwa)**

Looks like you're up again Kankuro." said Naruto as Kankuro nodded to his next student as the boy was heading for the stairs. "Think this one will be able to move on as well?"

"Just watch and learn." Kankuro replied as the two prepared to square off.

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And learn they did, well, if they were looking for a lesson in brutality. The battle was as short as it was brutal. Much like his teammate, Odori was a puppet user, something he didn't even attempt to hide as he immediately summoned Karasu when the match began.

Now, as far as ninja weapons go, puppets are one of the most useful and most deadly, for those who know how to use them. Being made primarily of metal, they are naturally resistant to damage and their hidden compartments hold a veritable armory of weapons and surprises. All the while, the puppet master can simply sit back away from the direct battle leaving him or herself out of harm's way.

However, as with any battle, sometimes things don't particularly go according to plan. In this case, as the smoke from the summoning scroll momentarily obscured the opponents views from one another, Tessei cast a "**Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu**." and then hid within the shadows by the wall.

As the puppet approached the clone, its mouth opened firing several poisoned darts from a spring-loaded compartment within. When the clone was struck with the projectiles, it exploded in a wave of honey, completely coating the puppet and gumming up the joints and compartments completely impeding its movements. Seeing his puppet defeated in an instant, Odori reevaluated his options as he searched for his opponent.

"This battle is over, give up." said Tessei stepping out of the shadows.

Odori, of course, scoffed at the idea while pulling out a kunai. Without his puppet it was true that he'd be at a disadvantage, but it's not like any Suna shinobi is useless without their main weapon.

"Very well," said Tessai turning his back on Odori and making his way towards the stairs. "**Hachi Bakudan no Jutsu**." he whispered just before his foot landed on the first step.

The bugs which he subtly had sent to land on Odori as the puppet engaged his clone exploded on various parts of his body. With a cry of agony, Odori crashed to the ground his lifeblood quickly seeping away from him.

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Seeing his student's life in true danger, Kankuro immediately dove off the balcony to his student's side. He didn't even hear Neji call for the medics or the announcement of Tessei as the winner as he began applying pressure to the most serious wounds.

Back on the balcony, Ino shuddered at the sight before her. Sure, as an ANBU she'd been exposed to death before, even taking lives herself, but the casual way in which the Iwa Gennin had practically (and still possibly) killed his clearly outmatched opponent reaffirmed the stories she'd heard from the Third Great Shinbi War of their bloodthirstiness.

"I've fought with a couple of Kamizuru before, but I've never seen one that skilled or merciless. Bug users are tough opponents, even at your level, you should be careful should you have to fight him." she heard Naruto say from her side.

Hearing the board announcing the next match as Kankuro and the medic nins left to attempt to save Tessei, Ino decided not to respond, instead looking to the board.

**Yamanaka Ino (Konoha) vs. Kyuusei Yahiko (Kumo)**.

"Well, I guess that's my cue." grinned Ino to her teammates and Yamato as she flipped over the rail landing lightly on her feet next to Neji on the floor below.

"Good luck." said Naruto to the empty space Ino occupied a moment earlier.

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"Oh, how I was hoping to be paired up against one of you bastards. Payback for that ambush in the forest." the Cloud Gennin, Yahiko, said as he slowly and confidently walked down the stairs.

"After the thrashing you received, I'm surprised that you even have the guts to fight me." smirked Ino.

Gritting his teeth, Yahiko began forming seals the moment that Neji instructed them to start. "**Raiton: Dairaihari**!" he shouted looking into her eyes as the air crackled around him. Slashing his arm in front of him, a hail of thousands of lightning needles exploded towards Ino. His grin as the girl froze and didn't even attempt to dodge disappeared as when the needles impacted, she exploded into a flourish of sakura blossoms.

'_Genjutsu?! I didn't even see her move._' thought the surprised Yahiko. Though surprised, the Kumo Gennin didn't panic diving to the side so he wasn't a sitting duck, hands immediately coming together in the tiger seal. "**Kai**!" he called, dispelling the genjutsu. With the illusion gone he had less than a second to duck under the cross-slash of Ino's kodachi. As the blade grazed his hair, Yahiko moved to attack his opponent's exposed side. Of course he did not expect her to simply continue her rotation and, lashing out with her leg send him sprawling across the ground.

As he skipped across the stone floor, Yahiko planted his hand and used his momentum to flip up, flinging a kunai in the direction that his opponent was. Landing on his feet, he glared as the girl effortlessly batted the lightning charged kunai out of the air with her blade.

"Surely you can do better than that!" taunted his overly confident opponent.

Of course he could do better than that! Just who did this girl think he was?! He was Kyuusei Yahiko, one of the best Gennin that Kumogakure, the strongest of the hidden villages, had to offer! Beyond that he was personally trained by General Nii Yugito, one of the strongest of Hidden Cloud and container of the Nibi no Nekomata. This foolish girl clearly had a death wish insulting him as she had been. Very well, if she wanted to die, who was he to stop her? In fact, he was all too happy to help her on her way.

These were the thoughts racing through Yahiko's head as he pulled out a series of kunai. Seeing no movement from his opponent he charged each of them with lightning chakra before tossing all but one of them towards his opponent in the shape of a pentagram. Quickly flashing through hand seals he prepared his strongest jutsu: "**Raiton: Raikyo Haku**!" he called out, hurling the final kunai with all of his strength directly at the middle of the other five that were still sailing towards Ino.

The technique was deceiving as none of the initial five kunai thrown actually target the opponent. "DISAPPEAR!" he yelled as the kunai reached the center of the projectiles. The moment it did, lightning surged and exploded, encompassing Ino's surprised, unmoving form.

* * *

A/N: And that's it for now. The preliminary battles are both fun to write as well as frustrating. There're too many characters and the majority of them I need to completely make up their fighting styles and personalities (though I kind of gloss over the latter). The prelims will take us through the next two chapters and, even though the outcomes of most matches are probably predictable, I hope you enjoy the fights. Drop me a review to let me know what you think.

Sensualkidney13: Thanks for all of your reviews and thoughts. I know that my writing is currently not very good, particularly in the non-action areas. I'm hoping to improve upon that as the story goes, so please just bear with me.

Jutsu Library:

**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu**-Fire Element: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique

**Futon: Kamaitachi**-Wind Element: Cutting Whirlwind

**Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu**-Bug Clone Technique

**Hachi Bakudan no Jutsu**-Bee Bomb Technique

**Raiton: Dairaihari**-Lightning Element: Great Lightning Needles

**Kai**-Release

**Raiton: Raikyo Haku**-Lightning Element: Lightning Star Shot


	17. Chapter 16: Chuunin Exam: Prelims II

A/N: Thanks to Leafy for her beta work as well as all of my reviewers. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 16**

"Terrifying jutsu." said Konohamaru aloud as the match came to a close, his fists clenched as he surveyed the damage left behind by Yahiko's Raikyo Haku. The surrounding Gennin and even Genma and Yamato each affirmed

The winner began walking slowly back up the stairs, a self-satisfied expression on their face while the medical crew that wasn't immediately working on keeping Samui alive long enough to heal was tending to the burns of the defeated nin.

"You nearly lost that you know…" said Naruto as the unscathed shinobi reached his position.

"So, the guy wasn't all bark. I still had it under control." Ino replied with a grin.

-----Flashback-----

_As the Kumo nin known as Yahiko threw the first 5 kunai, Ino quirked an eyebrow as they were moving quite slowly and none of them were on route to even come close to hitting her. Seeing him beginning to form hand seals, she caught a flash of his surface thoughts with her bloodline, and her eyes widened. Hands immediately grasping the hilts of her kodachis she prepared the strongest wind attack she had to counter what she knew to be a powerful incoming lightning jutsu._

"_**Raiton: Raikyo Haku**__!" called out Yahiko hurling a sixth kunai The moment that Yahiko's kunai reached the center of the other 5 projectiles, he yelled, "DISAPPEAR!" as the lightning contained with each surged and exploded in a gigantic blast._

_The moment that the lightning jutsu initiated, in one movement Ino drew her kodachis and called out "__**Nito-Ryu Iai: Rashoumon!**__" though the crackle of the electricity completely masked her words. A whirlwind of slashing blades of wind exploded off of Ino's kodachis pushing back against the crackling lightning not a foot in front of her. Despite the lightning element's innate weakness against wind, the sheer power of the attack would have allowed it to overcome a weaker 'defense.' Fortunately for Ino, Rashoumon proved to be strong enough to repel the explosion directed at her. Quickly creating a bunshin which immediately henged into a smoking corpse as she merged into the ground with a few hand seals and a whispered "__**Doton: Dochuu Eigyo**__." _

_Looking at the smoking body of his opponent, Yahiko couldn't help but smile. That was, of course, until he heard a voice from behind him call out "__**Katon: Hiken**__!" Spinning around he found a column of fire racing at him mere feet away. Without time to dodge and nothing in the room to kawarimi with, Yahiko simply crossed his arms attempting to protect himself from as much of the damage as possible as the fire washed over him. _

_It all happened so fast. From the view of the spectators, less than a minute passed between Yahiko casting his jutsu and him being consumed from behind by fire. As the flames died away, Yahiko remained standing for a single moment before his unconscious, smoldering body toppled to the ground._

-----End Flashback-----

Despite the tough act, Naruto noticed her body shake ever so slightly as she said it. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he leaned in and whispered, "That jutsu scared you, didn't it?" Not bothering to wait for her answer, he continued, "You did amazing, I doubt many people in this room could have come away from that unscathed. Going up against the unknown and coming out on top, that's the mark of a great shinobi."

Not taking her eyes from the board, Ino gave a small smile and reached her hand up and gave the hand on her shoulder a quick squeeze in thanks. She was actually surprised that his words and gesture had actually succeeded to calming her down. Though she concealed it well behind a mask of arrogance, the destructive power that the Kumo Gennin had called forth was astronomical, and it had scared her. Without her bloodline and a powerful wind jutsu at hand, she would have been lucky to be breathing at this point in time. On the positive side, she was alive, and her shinobi skills once again came through for her.

Her body tensed slightly as he removed his hand, turning his attention to the board as the next match was announced: **Sai (Konoha) vs. Iwama Kaiju (Suna)**

"Not that you need it, but good luck Sai." said Naruto offering up encouragement to the boy. When he saw the shocked expression Sai was giving him, he chuckled and continued, "We may not get along, but we're still teammates."

Without missing a beat, Sai responded loud enough for the entire balcony to hear. "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't swing that way. I don't play for _your_ team."

Ino and Yamato sweat dropped as every head turned in their direction. Coolly brushing of the jab, Naruto punched Sai off the balcony where he back flipped during his descent to land in a crouch on the level below glaring up at his team.

"You know Naruto, you have no one but yourself to blame for his animosity towards you. Afterall, you did threaten to keep him unconscious for four days. Not exactly the best way to build friendship." said Ino, her grin just a little too wide.

"Shut up. I can't help it that he likes to get punished." replied Naruto playfully winking towards Ino, all previous frustration forgotten in an instant.

As they watched the match, Ino cringed as Kaiju was once again sent sprawling across the arena floor. "I feel bad for his opponent. Kankuro-san definitely trained his team well, this guy definitely is at Chuunin level."

"Yeah, you're probably a better judge of this than me, but his kenjutsu appears to be solid and his taijutsu is probably around the level that Lee was at without the gates in our last exam." Naruto confirmed.

"Luck is also a part of being a shinobi. Everyone eventually comes across someone stronger than them. How they handle that situation will determine their success as a ninja." Yamato added, imparting some of the wisdom he gained from experience. Nodding at their teacher's words, the group turned their attention back to the fight.

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Sai had to admit, the kid was fast, very fast for a Gennin. His taijutsu was solid with very few openings and he was able to wield his katana like an extension of himself-showing that he'd dutifully practiced with it from a young age. Unfortunately for him, Sai was an ANBU which meant that his speed and skill was far above any Gennin allowing him to escape any assault, defend sword strikes with his brush, and even attack back into openings that only a seasoned shinobi would see. After kicking Kaiju away for the third time, rather than press the assault with taijutsu, Sai's brush blurred across his scroll and, with a few hand seals and a whispered "**Choujuu Giga**." several ink tigers exploded off the page and launched themselves at the downed Gennin.

Not to be outdone, the moment he could get a limb under him, Kaiju flipped himself back to his feet, immediately found his balance and rushed towards the approaching animals blade flashing around him. As the beasts were defeated, noticing his opponent drawing again, Kaiju halted in his approach and jumped backwards, drawing supplies from his weapon's pouch with his free hand. As several snakes raced off the scroll and across the floor, he threw a couple of kunai with exploding tags attached directly into their path. As the explosion went off, he was shocked to find that it was several times more powerful than he expected. Black plumes of smoke rushed across the floor, encompassing both opponents and Neji.

As the smoke began to clear, Kaiju found himself standing behind his opponent. Striking at the opportunity, he silently rushed forward and ran the other boy through with his blade. Instead of feeling any sort of resistance as the blade pierced his opponent, his forward momentum wasn't impeded at all and he ended up slightly losing his balance due to attempting to compensate for something that didn't happen. Stumbling slightly he crashed into and through the Konoha Gennin as the form dissolved and covered him from head to toe in ink. "**Sumi Tosou no Jutsu.**" he heard from behind him. Attempting to turn towards the sound of the voice, Kaiju found that he was unable to move.

"With my ink coating that much of you, you won't be able to move at all. This match has been decided." Sai said, drawing a kunai. "Concede now, or I'll be forced to end it."

Trying one last time to break the jutsu, Kaiju discovered it was in vain. Shifting his eyes to Neji, he said clearly, "Examiner, I concede."

"Winner, Sai." announced Neji nodding to the Suna Gennin as Sai released him from the jutsu.

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"He's actually better than I thought. I mean, it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to win, but the other kid was actually decent and he made him look like a rookie." Ino said to Naruto as the two opponents walked back towards the waiting area. Reflecting on that, she realized that it was the first time in this exam that at least one of the Gennin wasn't being carried off by the medics.

"Yeah, he's definitely at or at least close to Jounin level. He's been holding out on us-looks like ROOT really trained him well." confirmed Naruto as the board lit up with the next matchup: **Sakio Kairi (Iwa) vs. Hiyama Reiko (Kumo)**

From the balcony, the match seemed completely unimpressive; it was over in an instant. However, from the point of view of one Hiyama Reiko, it was anything but. As she was walking down the steps, her opponent fell into step beside her and whispered in her ear. "Forfeit this match before the fighting begins or else I'll use a handy ability of my bloodline to send you to hell."

Not in the least bit phased, Reiko smirked back at her opponent. "What do you think this is, my first dance? No such bloodline exists, you don't scare me. But if you're that scared of actually fighting me, you're welcome to forfeit and save yourself some pain."

As the two confident kunoichi smirked at each other, Neji signaled the beginning of the match. Not wasting a moment, Reiko moved to jump backwards as her opponent's hands came together in a meaningless hand seal. However, before she could move, the walls of the arena exploded into fire, the rest of the scenery and people fading away as brimstone rained from the now exposed crimson sky.

'_Impressive genjutsu_' thought Reiko. '_Very realistic. However, she's clearly still underestimating me-anyone who's not a wet-behind-the-ears rookie can defeat this._' Bringing her hands together in a ram's seal as the floor began to corrode away, "Kai." she called out using the standard genjutsu release. Her eyes widened as the floor continued to erode away leaving her standing on little more than a one foot pedestal with nothing but fire and magma below her. '_Double layered genjutsu?!_' She tried again, "Kai!" this time pulsing her chakra even stronger. Below her, the magma began to shift and churn as a figure began to emerge. Like a scene right out of a horror film, what could only be described as a demon rose up from the fires below, its form towering over her at least 60 feet tall. Horns growing from a skull-like face, gigantic pitchfork held within its clawed hands, tail slashing behind it. However, most terrifying of all, were its eyes. On a being made entirely of fire and magma, it wouldn't seem possible that the eyes could possibly stand out, but within the jet black pupils, shone a supernova of fire promising nothing but a merciless death. '_What is this?_' she thought as the demon's eyes focused directly on her. "Kai!" The raining brimstone increased, burning into her skin. '_It can't be._' she thought, beginning to become desperate. "Kai!!" The towering demon raised its pitchfork. '_IT'S_ _REAL?!_" she thought before screaming "Kai! Kai!! KAI!!!!!!" praying that the nightmare would end. And end it did as the demon's arm came forward, the pitchfork piercing her body as her body exploded from within in white hot pain.

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To those watching from the balcony, once Neji signaled the start of the match, Reiko simply began to scream out 'Kai' repeatedly in steadily increasing volume before screaming in agony and collapsing to the ground. The entire fight took less than a minute with neither fighter moving an inch from where they began.

"That must've been one hell of a genjutsu." Naruto said to the audience as a whole.

"What's the matter dickless? Scared?" quipped Sai earning him a glare from several of the audience. "Clearly the stupid cow was just weak."

"Maybe." agreed Naruto, though it didn't add up considering the strength of the Cloud Gennin that Ino fought.

"No time to worry about that." said Ino, gesturing to the board a smile noticeably absent from her face. "You're up next."

Looking at the board himself, his heart sank. It was truly the worst possible situation. It read: **Uzumaki Naruto (Konoha) vs. Sarutobi Konohamaru (Konoha)**

Turning to his long-time friend, he saw the stricken look he was giving him. Silently, the two of them walked down to the lower level. '_This isn't good. Konohamaru's completely locked up; he can't fight like this_.'

As they stood across from one another waiting for Neji to signal the beginning of the match, Naruto forced a smile to his face and addressed his opponent. "Come on Konohamaru, let's give these people something to watch. I always told you that if you wanted to become Hokage that you'd have to go through me. Here's your first chance, show me how much you've grown."

"Begin!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry to cut it short, but this is as good of a stopping point as any. With this chapter I've finally passed the 40,000 word mark, not that the story has really even begun. Next chapter we'll see the end of the preliminaries and the match-ups for the finals. I should have that up on Friday I imagine. The updates for the one month break may take a little longer as some of that I'm not very good at writing. That's all for now, read and review.

Jutsu Library:

**Raiton: Raikyo Haku**-Lightning Element:

**Nito-Ryu Iai: Rashoumon**-Two Sword Style Draw and Resheath Technique: Rashoumon. This is a powerful wind element sword technique capable of cutting nearly anything.

**Doton: Dochuu Eigyo**-Underground Fish Projection

**Katon: Hiken**-Fire Element: Fire Fist

**Choujuu Giga**-Super Beash Imitation Drawing

**Sumi Tosou no Jutsu**-Ink Coaring Technique


	18. Chapter 17: Chuunin Exam: Prelims III

A/N: Thanks as always to my beta, Leafy. Without further ado:

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 17**

'_This isn't how this was supposed to end._' thought Konohamaru as the board revealed his opponent to be none other than Uzumaki Naruto. Turning to face his long-time friend, he saw the same surprised, disappointed look on his face that he knew he must be mimicking. Despite knowing that Naruto was going to be participating in the exams, he never imagined that he'd actually be forced to fight him. '_I should just give up…there's no way I can beat him._' rang through his mind as he walked down the stairs with his head down and shoulders slumped as though walking in a funeral procession. Being the grandson of the deceased Sandaime Hokage, Konohamaru was given a bit of leeway by the Godaime. Knowing how much he idolized Naruto, she allowed Konohamaru to look at his file which documented his abilities and overall shinobi résumé. Well, at least the one containing the information on Naruto before he'd left to train with Jiraiya. Even putting aside his idolizing the older Gennin, if he was objective with himself, Konohamaru knew it was unlikely that he would be able to defeat _that_ Naruto, let alone one which had spent the last three years training with one of the Legendary Sannin.

Standing across from Naruto, Konohamaru didn't even attempt to take a fighting pose, head down in defeat. Deciding to save himself the embarrassment, he glanced up at the examiner and opened his mouth to withdraw from the match. "Come on Konohamaru, let's give these people something to watch." he heard Naruto say somewhat cheerily from across from him.

Glancing up, he saw a smile on Naruto's face. '_And why shouldn't he be smiling, he's got a guaranteed pass into the next round._' he thought bitterly.

"I always told you that if you wanted to become Hokage that you'd have to go through me. Here's your first chance-show me how much you've grown." Naruto continued, dropping into a light taijutsu stance.

Konohamaru felt his fighting spirit return at those words. Naruto wasn't looking down on him; he could see it in his eyes that he honestly wanted to fight him. "Of course." he replied, dropping into his own stance, bo staff held in one hand behind him. "But the position of Hokage will be mine!" he finished, a grin forming on his face.

"Begin." they each heard Neji say as the two leapt towards each other.

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Naruto was impressed. Konohamaru controlled his bo staff like it was an art form, using its superior reach to make up for his small stature, keeping the opponent at a distance. Of course, for an opponent of Naruto's caliber, it wasn't nearly enough. He could have slipped within his friend's guard as any time with his superior speed, but he meant what he said-he really wanted to see Konohamaru's improvement. So, he was content just dodging and redirecting the staff with his hands, never once allowing the boy to land a blow. As Konohamaru pulled back after failed hi-to-low cross strike he left a slight opening that even another Gennin could have seen. Seeing the opportunity to teach him a lesson, Naruto stepped in to take advantage of the opening. However, as soon as he moved, Konohamaru changed the direction of the staff, the tip of it firing straight down his arm, immediately striking at the spot Naruto was headed towards. Grinning as he figured out the ploy, Naruto whispered "**Soru**." and vanished, the tip of the staff passing through his afterimage and striking the ground.

"You left that opening intentionally; didn't you?" asked Naruto reappearing behind and several feet away from Konohamaru. The only response he received was a grin from the other boy as got back into a fighting stance. Glancing at the ground, Naruto quirked an eyebrow at his opponent in question of the perfectly round hole several inches deep in the cement. "Looks like you learned a few things from your uncle…that was dangerous!"

"Please, if that was enough to defeat you, you wouldn't be worthy of the title of Hokage." smirked the younger Gennin. The stance he was in completely concealed the weapon from view with the staff held parallel to the ground behind him and only the tip was held in his hand.

"I suppose that's fair." Naruto smiled back. "Well then, I guess it's time to start getting serious. **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." A dozen clones sprung up around him. With an affirmative nod, the clones rushed towards Konoha's Honorable Grandson.

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"Interesting student you've got there Genma." said Yamato turning to the other Konoha Jounin instructor.

"Konohamaru certainly has his grandfather's talent. He's still young, so he hasn't been able to cultivate it yet, but I have high hopes for that one." the lazy looking Jounin replied while chewing on a large toothpick.

"No offense Hanabi-san," said Ino, addressing the young Hyuuga before turning her attention to Genma, "but he must be your ace, huh?" she asked while watching the boy in question battling the clones. She was pretty impressed with the younger Gennin as he craftily attached an explosive note to a clone which he detonated while it was near three others reducing their number to eight.

"It may surprise you, but Konohamaru-kun has never defeated Hanabi here in a fight. Despite his great potential, Hanabi continues to prove why the Hyuuga are the most feared clan in Konoha." replied Genma, apparently not caring if such information on his team was leaked.

Looking down at the much shorter girl, Ino's lips twitched upwards as she noticed the slightly colored cheeks of the normally stoic Hyuuga. "My apologies Hanabi-san, I look forward to seeing your match. I haven't seen a Hyuuga fight since Hinata was promoted to Chuunin."

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On the other side of the balcony, the Tsuchikage was seething. "Hokage-sama, I can't believe that you allowed a Gennin to learn that jutsu." he said, addressing the busty woman. Though a forbidden jutsu, kage bunshin was a jutsu known by high ranking shinobi of all nations. He knew well of both its virtues as well as its potential dangers, seeing the object of his hatred effortlessly and effectively using it made him want to jump down and kill the boy himself.

"Yes, well, Naruto has known that jutsu since before my tenure here as Hokage." replied Tsunade smirking at the other kage before returning her attention to the fight. She knew that he was well aware that the chakra capacity needed to safely perform kage bunshin was very high, so this had effectively told him that for over three years, Naruto held a Jounin level of chakra.

"Incredible." the Tsuchikage replied grinding his teeth. "It's a miracle that a boy capable of such a feat is still a Gennin after all this time."

"He's only taken the exams once, three years ago." replied Jiraiya humoring the Tsuchikage's prying. "Once he became my apprentice, we've been traveling and he's been unable to participate."

Hearing a crunching sound, the Tsuchikage turned his attention to the other members of his team. Tessei was standing back, away from the final member of his team. Red armor crackling with barely suppressed energy, the man's hands were gripping the rail so tightly that it had crushed from the pressure. Hoping to placate the man before he exploded, he placed his hand on shoulder but couldn't help but step back as the man turned a glare towards him that promised a painful death, his golden eyes flashing dangerously. A moment passed and a spark of recognition appeared within those murderous eyes as the Tsuchikage flared his chakra momentarily drawing the attention of the others on the balcony. Even the Naruto and Konohamaru momentarily paused in their fighting to evaluate the disturbance.

"Stop this _now_." the Tsuchikage hissed dangerously so only the Gennin could hear, as he noticed the tensing of both Tsunade and Jiraiya "You'll get your chance, I can guarantee you that, it's why we're here afterall."

Taking a deep breath, the man nodded and stepped back from the railings sitting against the wall, eyes closed attempting to reigned in his emotions.

The tension gone and feeling a flash of heat, the audience turned their heads back to the match. Apparently Konohamaru had gotten tired of fighting the clones and decided to eliminate them all at once with fire jutsu. The clone nearest to him was immediately consumed by the flames puffing out of existence. Before the fires could reach any others, one of the clones formed hand seals at a blinding pace calling out "**Suiton: Suijinheki**." before exhaling a stream of water which doused the incoming flames.

'_The clones can perform jutsu?!_' thought Konohamaru, shocked at the development. Even more surprising to him was he was pretty sure that Naruto's clone had used Kyuubi's chakra when performing that jutsu. To the untrained eye it would have been impossible to notice, but just before the clone began to make hand seals, the whisker marks on its cheek darkened slightly, its pupils had elongated, the eye turning more of a purple color than Naruto's striking blue. The changes lasted less than the second that it took for the clone to finish its hand seals, but Konohamaru had seen it. '_If he's going to go that far, my only chance is to catch him by surprise. Time to bring out my trump card._ _Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram._" he thought while rushing through the hand seals. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**!" he called out pouring nearly all of his chakra into the summoning.

A half-dozen humanoid forms appeared from the smoke each about the height of a young Gennin. As the smoke cleared, Naruto actually laughed aloud at the stereotypical ninja outfits that Konohamaru's summons wore. All black body suits, mask covering their face all except their eyes. The laughter, however, disappeared from his face as the summons pounced on his clones destroying all of them in less than a minute's time.

Smiling at the other boy as he saw him down a soldier pill, Naruto said, "So, your grandfather passed that on to you, huh? He couldn't have picked a better successor." said Naruto referring to what could only be the monkey contract. "Very well," he continued, setting into a fighting stance, "Let's see what they can do."

With no more encouragement needed, the summons rushed quickly at Naruto, preparing to engage him in a taijutsu battle. Naruto's eyes, however, never left his actual opponent. Throughout this fight, Konohamaru had proved to have a sort of creative genius in how he fought-much like himself. The unexpected maneuvers allowed him to get the drop on even opponents who were stronger than him. Despite the speed and skill of the summoned warriors, Naruto knew what to expect from them having studied the Sandaime Hokage extensively during his travels with Jiraiya. In this fight, his Gennin opponent was the wild card making him the greatest threat. As all six monkeys dove in to strike, several puffs of smoke appeared, as clones popped into existence all around Naruto in defensive positions blocking each strike. Unperturbed, the summons quickly flipped or dodged around the clones which immediately popped out of existence as more clones appeared blocking the follow-up strikes. At this point, Naruto began to counterattack against the summons. With clones appearing to block every strike, Naruto was able to put all of his attention on offense driving back all five summons simultaneously.

Jumping back the six monkeys pulled out several kunai, a handful of them with attached exploding tags, and launched them at Naruto from all sides even above. Glancing at the incoming projectiles, Naruto missed Konohamaru finishing a long string of hand seals "**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" came the call from the younger contestant the dozens of kunai multiplying into hundreds. Unlike the kage bunshin that Naruto knew, kunai and shuriken kage bunshin don't create animated bodies, but merely inanimate projectiles so the chakra requirement is far less and the chance for mental strain nonexistent. Therefore, these are frequently taught to Chuunin and Jounin shinobi.

With the weapons and quickly burning down explosive notes approaching from every direction, Naruto did not have the option to dodge. '_Hm_.' thought Naruto. '_So he was able to push me this far._' He couldn't help but smile at his friend's progress even as the air around him began to swirl violently. As the projectiles got within five feet of Naruto, the maelstrom of cross-breezes blew out the flames on the explosive notes, halted the forward momentum of the kunai, and caused them to spin randomly before getting blown away.

Seeing the protection of the wind jutsu, Konohamaru decided to go for broke using its natural weakness, fire. Releasing his summons and forming hand seals as fast as he could, he called forth the remainder of his soldier pill-recovered chakra and called "**Katon: Goukaku no Jutsu**" sending the largest fireball he was able to towards his opponent. Chakra reserves exhausted to the maximum 'safe' level, Konohamaru was seeing spots. Panting, he fell to one knee, awaiting the result.

Seeing the incoming fire attack, Naruto called "**Shinkuujin**" bringing his hand across his body in a slashing motion causing the wind to part and a vacuum to form in the path his hand traveled as it moved out towards the other Gennin. As the fireball met Naruto's blade, the fireball folded inwards, the vacuum consuming the oxygen and extinguishing the flames.

Energy and adrenaline expended, Konohamaru succumbed to the exhaustion and began to pitch forward not even having the strength to break his fall. He vaguely heard Neji's announcement "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." as gravity took its hold. Wincing as he braced for impact, he was surprised when it never came. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he felt a powerful grip on his shoulder. He felt a flurry of movement as unconsciousness claimed him.

Opening his eyes, he found himself back on the balcony, propped up against the wall. From his vantage point he could see the backs of Naruto and his team as well as his Jounin sensei, Genma. Not having the strength to stand, he asked aloud, "What happened?"

"You overdid it and passed out from chakra exhaustion. Great fight though. You're a hell've a lot stronger than I was when I first took these exams." replied Naruto, turning and smiling at him.

Smiling weakly he corrected, "I meant, how did I get here?"

"Naruto caught you and brought you here." responded Ino.

Looking to Naruto he heard, "You weren't hurt at all and there's only the one match left, so I figured I'd save you the trouble of the medic nins. In my experience, it's easy to find yourself in their care, but impossible to get away."

Konohamaru couldn't help but laugh slightly at the truth of that statement before asking, "How long was I out for?"

"Only about five minutes, just enough time for your body to recover some chakra. Had you used any more the recovery time would have increased exponentially." replied Genma casually, though sternly.

"Where's Hanabi-chan?" he asked as his mind began to clear and he noticed his teammate's absence.

Raising an eyebrow in question to the boy's use of the 'chan' suffix, Naruto responded "As I said, there's one fight to go." his face becoming serious as he peered back to the level below.

Dragging himself to his feet, Konohamaru made his way over to the railings to see as well.

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It was the forest all over again. That's all that Hanabi kept thinking as she attempted to fight off her opponent. Sure, back then it was three-on-one and she was never given an opportunity to go on any sort of offensive, but ignoring that, the situation was the same-this Gennin knew her fortes and avoided them like the plague. When the board first showed that she was going to be getting the opportunity to fight the Cloud Gennin, Aijou Mugen, she was actually enthused. Here was an opportunity to get back at them for the thrashing her team received in the second test. Of course, saying this was easier than doing it as, now that she actually _had_ to defeat this opponent, she realized that he was just toying with her before and was actually much better than she had realized.

Dodging another rain of shuriken, Hanabi flipped into the air to avoid the ninja wire that her opponent had snaked all along the ground. Once again thanking her natural born gift as electrical current jumped off the wires attempting to strike her had she not seen the nearly invisible wires. As she landed, she immediately began to spin. "**Kaiten**!" she called out as chakra shot out from each of her tenketsu forming a protective dome around her spinning form. As the incoming kunai impacted the 'ultimate defense' explosions rang out across the stadium as exploding tags detonated attempting to break through. Fortunately for Hanabi, her 'ultimate defense' remained unbreakable as smoke cascaded around the protective dome.

Unlike the rest of the room, the smoke did nothing to impede her vision, a blessing as she was able to see the other Gennin forming hand seals. Coming out of her spin, she dove to the side, avoiding the "**Raiton: Raidan**." and hand-springing off one hand to land back on her feet in a battle-ready pose.

The entire fight had been like this. Whether the opponent was truly a mid-range fighter was unclear, but he would never let her close the distance between them enough to bring the battle to taijutsu where her Gentle Fist could provide her with an advantage. Taking the brief respite as a moment to think, Hanabi considered her options.

"So, this is what the Hyuuga have been reduced to, is it?" sneered the boy across from her.

Not bothering to respond to the goading, Hanabi put her hands together. Disgusted with herself for relying on a 'lesser' technique, she nonetheless formed the necessary hand seals before creating a handful of bunshin around her. Splitting up, they rushed in unison towards her opponent.

"Like hell that'll work!" shouted the Kumo Gennin hands coming together forming seals. As Hanabi and the clones began to draw close, he finished preparing his jutsu, hands held together in a dragon seal. He called out, "**Raiton: Ranmyaku Raikou**." as his body began to glow momentarily and tendrils of lightning began to shoot off of him in every direction. Watching the various incoming assailants, he saw bolts of lightning strike and pass through four of them. Ignoring those that he knew to be clones, he turned his attention to the remaining three as they ducked and dodged away from the lightning. Chakra being drained quickly by the lightning jutsu, he quickly pulled out several shuriken and hurled then in a wide spread at each of the possible opponents. Unable to dodge both the projectiles as well as the lightning bolts, he noticed as the clones were 'struck' by one or the other as one of the targets planted her feet and began to spin-blue chakra forming a dome around her.

Jumping backwards to put some distance between himself and the Hyuuga girl, he pulled out a scroll to summon more mid-to-long range weapons. However, no sooner did his feet touch down his body froze as he heard "You are within my field of hake." from the crouching form of the nearest clone.

Standing up, with her arms forming a line-right arm held pointing up and behind her and left arm angled downwards in front-Hanabi revealed that she had received a burn across her side as well as a kunai in her left shoulder, but managed to fool him into thinking she was a simple bunshin. She couldn't help but smirk as he jumped near to her as her plan had worked perfectly. "**Hakke Rokujuuyonshou**" she called out jumping towards him her hands already moving forward aglow with chakra. "Two strikes." she said aloud striking two points on her opponent's body. "Four strikes." she continued, each hand striking twice on new points. This continued through "Eight strikes. Sixteen strikes. Thirty-two strikes." and finally concluded as she rained 64 strikes down on him.

A deep held secret within the Hyuuga main clan are the inner workings of the Hakke Rokujuuyonshou and its stronger counterpart Hakke Hyakunijuuhachishou. Most people assume that these are simply powerful taijutsu techniques used to sealing the chakra of the opponent. This is in fact the reason that branch family members (with the exception of Neji) have never been able to learn these techniques. Inherent to the use of Hakke Rokujuuyonshou is a genjutsu which allows the user to make the strikes. Despite being able to see the tenketsu points, the probability of being able to land all 126 (or 254) strikes on an opponent of nearly the same caliber is essentially zero. Therefore, the main house, once they realized the power combining the Jyuuken with the byakugan's evolved ability to see tenketsu, set to developing a way for the attacks to hit home. This endeavor resulted in the creation of a genjutsu known as the hakke field. Much like how Hakkeshou Kaiten is performed, a small amount of chakra is released from every point in the body casting an area to be affected with the illusion which holds them in place. Because the genjutsu is only held for perhaps the half-dozen seconds that the entire attack takes to perform, only the most experienced of genjutsu masters or those possessing a doujutsu are able to break the genjutsu fast enough to prevent the assault.

Mugen collapsed. Despite the fact that he was a pretty reasonable fighter even without using his chakra, the internal damage coupled with the sudden absence of his chakra left him with a bone-deep exhaustion that he simply couldn't fight. '_Allowing a Hyuuga to get close really is suicide_.' were his last thoughts before his vision faded and exhaustion claimed him.

"Winner, Hyuuga Hanabi." Neji announced giving his cousin a warm smile as the medics rushed out to care for the injuries of both Gennin.

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As the medics removed Mugen from the room, Tsunade stepped forward and addressed the room. "Congratulations to all of you who won your matches. You have truly done your countries proud. As is customary with the Chuunin exams, we will now have a 1 month training period before the finals. Unlike the preliminaries, for the finals, we will select the matchups now," she said indicating the box that Jiraiya had produced, "so you will know beforehand who your first match will be against. Jinketsu-san, since you have received the bye into the finals, why don't you choose first."

One by one each of the winners chose a number from the box, a simple drawing determining their fates in a month's time.

"The first match will be Uzumaki Naruto vs. Ureshii Mai. The winner of that match will face the winner of Kamizuru Tessei vs. Sai." began Tsunade indicating the brackets on the wall behind him. "The third match is Hyuuga Hanabi vs. Yamanaka Ino and the winner will face the winner of Sakio Kairi vs. Jinketsu Tenjin." she saw Kairi visibly stiffen as though slapped at this news. "Again, congratulations to all of you and good luck in your training."

* * *

A/N: And that's it for the preliminaries. Here's the longest chapter yet at over 4000 words and we get to see a bit more of what Naruto is capable of. We'll get to see how long Hopefully this will tie you over for a little while as the next chapter will probably take longer to get out. Sorry for the semi-sudden ending, but honestly, I was honestly just getting tired of these relatively meaningless battles and I'm ready to start moving the plot along. As always, read and review.

Jutsu Library:

**Soru****-**Shave (Taijutsu technique allowing user to move at rapid speeds)

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu-**Shadow Clone Technique

**Suiton: Suijinheki**-Water Element: Water Encampment Wall

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**-Summoning Teachnique

**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**-Kunai Shadow Clone Technique

**Katon: Goukaku no Jutsu**-Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique

**Shinkuujin**-Vacuum Blade

**Kaiten**-Heavenly Spin

**Raiton: Raidan-**Lightning Element: Lightning Bullet

**Raiton: Ranmyaku Raikou**-Lightning Element: Chaotic Lightning

**Hakke Rokujuuyonshou**-Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand


	19. Chapter 18: You want me to what!

A/N: **IMPORTANT:** for those of you who read chapter 17 before today, I have changed the match ups for the finals. Several people complained about Naruto fighting another Hyuuga and, while I had some interesting ideas for that fight, the new match ups are more unique and actually work better as a whole for the progression of the story. Look back at chapter 17 for the updated brackets. The following chapter is a bit rough, but I figured I'd get it posted as it's not _overly_ important in the long run, but merely serves to set up some things for the next chapter which will be much more interesting.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 18**

In stark contrast to the last time Naruto made it to the finals, this time his Jounin sensei immediately offered every member of the team personalized training should they desire it. Of course, each being at or near Jounin level themselves with their own teachers, the three had turned down the offer though Yamato made it clear that it remained on the table. Despite the fact that for him, as well as his entire team, promotion was all but assured, Naruto had no intention to waste the provided time. Though he may not need additional abilities for something as elementary as the Chuunin exams, he knew full well that there were plenty of enemies out there who would require everything he had, and possibly more should he wish to win.

After three years of training with Jiraiya, Naruto managed to learn nearly every jutsu the old pervert knew. Apart from natural energy and the senjutsu techniques associated with it, which due to housing the Kyuubi, he simply could not learn (the two chakras refusing to coexist, much like oil and water), Naruto had learned, if not mastered every jutsu in Jiraiya rather extensive collection. Thus, rather than tracking down his old sensei, Naruto planned to spend his time improving on skills he already had and working on a few projects he had. It was with that in mind that Naruto woke up bright and early the morning after the preliminaries.

After some light warm-up exercises which consisted of stretching, a brisk jog around Konoha, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and a series of punches and kicks, Naruto headed towards the training grounds feeling good and loose. Arriving at an empty field he formed his most-used hand seal and, channeling Kyuubi's chakra, called forth several hundred kage bunshin. Splitting them into groups, he sent each group upon a specific task including: honing his already mastered taijutsu, working on high level chakra control exercises (or inventing and mastering new ones), mastering several ninjutsu techniques that he was yet to be satisfied with, invention of new ninjutsu all his own, or work with the various weapons he carried, honing aim or finding new and inventive uses for them.

As he began to work on some strength or speed building exercises of his own as it was the one thing that his clones could not do for him for any lasting effect, Naruto sensed that he was not alone. Grunting in annoyance, Naruto halted in his exercises, but left his clones to continue their work as for one, most of them were no longer in the clearing and secondly, the onlooker was someone who surely knew about his training regimen. Turning his head in the direction of the hidden shinobi, Naruto gritted his teeth and ground out, "If you're going to interrupt my training, at least be courteous and show yourself, Kakashi."

Appearing next to him in a swirl of leaves, Kakashi had his hands raised in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry Naruto." he said immediately. "My curiosity got the better of me." he continued gesturing to the massive group of clones who were currently beating the crap out of each other. The entire exercise was essentially hidden by an ever present cloud of smoke which filled the air as various clones expired upon receiving damage.

Glancing at the group himself, Naruto sighed. "Oi!" he shouted to them. "Enough of the free-for-all, move on to one-on-one, you're clearing each other out too quickly-too many of you were making the same mistake." Chaos taken care of, he turned back to his former sensei. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to help you with your training." came the nonchalant reply. "While you're clearly a shoo-in for this exam, a shinobi's learning never ceases-there's always someone better out there."

"I don't recall asking for your help." Naruto coolly replied. "For that matter, when I _did_ ask for your help, I seem to remember you pawning me off on someone else." he added with a glare.

Wincing at the cheap shot, Kakashi responded, "At the time, I had no choice. Sasuke was the bigger concern." Seeing the almost murderous look in his old charge's face, he added "Surely you can appreciate that considering what you know about Gaara."

Maintaining his glare, Naruto responded, "Using what I _now_ know of Gaara, I would have to agree that extensive training of the traitor needed to be done for him to simply _survive_ that fight. However, despite the sharingan, there is no reason you had to be the one to teach him the entire month. Hell, you could have probably convinced Gai to teach him the taijutsu you stole from his student had you made it one of your 'contests.' However, at the time, Gaara was an unknown. You had two students in need of training, one fighting arguably the strongest Gennin in Konoha, the prodigy from Konoha's strongest clan, Hyuuga Neji and the other fighting the unknown opponent from Konoha's 'ally,' Suna who had defeated Lee. When you look at it like that, did Sasuke deserve your entire attention?"

Sighing, Kakashi's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I didn't come here to rehash these arguments. I know that I have failed you many times as a sensei. If I were to go back and do it again, I would have chosen to do things differently."

"Hindsight is 20-20 Kakashi. You should have looked underneath the underneath back when it mattered. Hell, it didn't take a genius to see that Sasuke was an unstable, revenge-driven, power-hungry brooder."

This time hiding the wince the blonde's accusatory, yet truthful words inspired, Kakashi replied, "That was in part why I took him under my wing. I had hoped to break him from that shell and show him the merits of Konoha's training. Regardless, I came here today to offer the same for you. You saw it yourself in your last exam the merits of learning to harness your elemental affinity-it can drastically increase your strength. Now, I won't guarantee that you'll be able to learn to control your natural elemental affinity in time for the finals, it did after all take Sasuke nearly the entire month to learn it, but it's something I know can help you."

Naruto actually laughed aloud at Kakashi's offer. Granted, it was a bitter-sweet laugh that conveyed both amusement and anger. Seeing Naruto's expression change suddenly to a dangerous, almost feral expression, Kakashi tensed and prepared himself for whatever Naruto may do.

"I don't understood your fixation in comparing me to Sasuke, especially now. Let's take a look at our respective track records. Sasuke was hailed as a genius who, for the first seven years of his life had the full backing and training of the Uchiha clan. After Itachi killed the Uchihas, Sasuke was essentially presented with his choice of instructors to put him through the academy, from which he emerged top of his class. Since then, he managed to delay a pair of Kiri Chuunin during our mission to wave. On that same mission, he froze up against Zabuza, lost to Haku despite awakening his sharingan, and nearly died. Come the Chuunin exams, he lost miserably to Lee, drove off some random Grass ninja, got destroyed by Orochimaru-not that anyone can fault him for that-using the cursed seal dominated the group of Oto Gennin, and defeated some older Konoha Gennin in the prelims. The finals got interrupted, but he ended up losing to Gaara when we were told to pursue him and his siblings."

"Myself, as the village's pariah, I received no training, only the hatred of near the entire village, until I entered the academy. As no one would sell me any books or supplies-not that I could afford them anyways-I ended up dead last at the academy. Admittedly, I froze up when the Kiri Chuunin attacked us on our way to Wave, but it was thanks to me that we were able to free you from Zabuza's water prison. Then, at the bridge, I defeated Haku who, may I reiterate, defeated Sasuke. In the Chuunin exams, I had to fight Orochimaru's giant summoned snake, save Sasuke's ass when he lost all will to fight against Orochimaru, and beat Kiba and Akamaru to get into the finals. Again, no thanks to my teacher's help, I defeated Hyuuga Neji before saving both of my teammates, defeating Gaara, and likely saving Konoha from destruction at the hands of the Shukaku. On the mission to bring back Tsunade I beat Kabuto, who was at elite Jounin level from what I hear."

"That pretty much just leaves the battle on the rooftop, which you stopped before we could figure out the winner, and the fight between Sasuke and myself at the Valley of the End where you know the result. What you may not know is that I had the opportunity to kill Sasuke that I chose not to take which resulted in my loss. My ultimate point here is, if you consider our respective records, Sasuke's growth was _nothing_ compared to mine. All of that being said, your offer is useless to me." Naruto finished grabbing the paper Kakashi had revealed as he was making the offer. Channeling chakra to the paper, the paper immediately crumpled showing his lightning affinity before the paper split in half and proceeded to shred itself into confetti revealing his unparalleled affinity to wind. "I mastered my elemental affinities in a week with Jiraiya, even managing what neither you, nor the Yondaime could." In response to the unasked question, he placed both of his palms face up. As Kakashi watched, the young man effortlessly formed a completed resengan in his right hind, wind swirled in his left in much the same manor. Using precise control, Naruto eased the two jutsu together forming a spiral of chakra with extended blades of wind circling around it. "**Futon: Rasen Shuriken**." he spoke simply.

Kakashi's eyebrows rose into his hairline unable to believe the maelstrom of power Naruto held in his hand. Before he could even think to uncover his Sharingan eye to study it further, in an instant it was gone as though it never existed.

"As you can see Kakashi, I've done fine without you. If I have need of your help, I'll come to you." Naruto ended, turning his back in dismissal of the Jounin. Noticing the obvious dismissal, Kakashi sighed and shunshinned away, his previous student having left him plenty to think about.

Taking a slow breath to dispel his irritation, Naruto turned his head and called out, "You can come out now." With a smile on his face, he lightly chided, "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?"

Jumping down from the nearby tree, Ino had the decency to look sheepish as she walked towards him. "Sorry about that, it really wasn't intentional." she offered in apology. "I was coming to ask you something, but you were already 'chatting' with Kakashi when I got here. It was pretty clear that interrupting _that_ exchange wasn't a good idea." she said making him chuckle slightly at the truth of that statement. "So you really did beat Gaara." she thought aloud. "Sakura told me that Sasuke had said that after it happened, but to be honest, at the time I thought he was just trying to get her to leave him alone."

Naruto sent a half-hearted glare at her. To be honest, he wasn't all that surprised. Before defeating Kiba and Neji in the Chuunin exams to his classmates and most of his teachers, he was basically a joke while Sasuke was hailed as a genius Gennin of unrivaled strength (regardless that it was far from the truth).

Brushing aside his annoyance, he bluntly asked her, "Why're you here Ino?"

Seeing Naruto lose his humor at her last statements, she mentally slapped herself. Did she learn nothing from the exchange she witnessed between him and Kakashi? Steeling herself, she looked directly into the blonde's eyes and responded as simply as he had asked, "I want you to train me."

Naruto was floored. Not even his extensive shinobi training prevented him from gaping like a fish at the smaller blonde before him who couldn't help but laugh outright at his expression. Mulling over her words, he quickly thought about how to respond to such a request. "You want me to…why?" was what he finally settled on.

"Well, first of all, I learned this morning that Yuugao-senpai is currently off on a mission and won't be back for two weeks" The anniversary of Hayate's death was quickly approaching and, like every year since Ino had met her, Yuugao was throwing herself into her work trying to forget the pain of loss. "With her gone, I'm a bit at a loss how to go about truly improving myself. Despite the fact that the average Jounin from most other countries aren't as strong as those from Konoha, I've fought and defeated Jounin on some of my ANBU missions, so I know that I'm already at Jounin level. With that in mind, I was hoping to train under someone stronger than myself. Initially I was going to take Yamato up on his offer, but I've trained with ANBU for years now and was hoping for a bit of a change of pace. That brings us to where we stand now. From what I hear you actually managed to best Hatake Kakashi in a fight when you first returned which means you're one of the top shinobi in the village. Beyond that, you've trained with one of the legendary Sannin and your improvement has been astronomical, nigh unheard of. Then there's the fact that I know you're not going to be away on missions and, as I consider you a friend, it was easier to approach you than a shinobi I don't really know."

Contemplating her words, Naruto couldn't really fault her logic. Even so, this wasn't a situation he should just jump into. First of all, he had never taught anyone before, save teaching Konohamaru the **Oiroke no Jutsu**, and he wasn't confident that he _could_ teach the girl anything of use. Secondly, though she was now his friend and teammate, Naruto truly didn't know the girl all that well. His time with Jiraiya taught him many powerful jutsu and abilities, many of them he was very leery to part with at all, let alone to someone he implicitly trusted. Finally, he wasn't really sure what the kunoichi was truly capable of, so he had no idea where to even start should he decide to train her.

Deciding that he needed more time, he focused again on his teammate to tell her just that. Noticing that her attention was no longer on him, he followed her gaze to once again find that his taijutsu clones had dissolved back into a free-for-all brawl. Sighing, he released the clones as he realized that of the 300 he had assigned to the task, only around 20 remained.

"I need to think this over." he said now that he had regained the other Gennin's attention. Seeing her eyes narrow in annoyance, he quickly backpedaled. "Hey, I'm not saying no, but teaching is not something I've really ever done-I'm not even convinced I _could_ help you." Glancing up at the sky and seeing that it was around noon he added, "Come on, I'll buy you lunch while I mull it over."

"Fine, as long as we go for something other than ramen." replied Ino, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Frowning slightly at having his first idea shot down, he decided to acquiesce. "Very well, we'll go wherever you'd like. Lead the way."

Unbeknownst to Ino, as they began to walk away a handful of Naruto clones popped into existence behind them. Their instructions clear, the clones jumped away towards their respective targets.

* * *

A/N: I could have made this chapter longer, but instead decided to get this posted as this seemed to be a reasonable stopping point. Plus, I wanted to put something up so my dedicated readers wouldn't have to wait too long. Just to be clear, unlike what is seen in the manga, Naruto will not be spamming Futon: Rasen Shuriken now that he has proven to know it. It is, however, a powerful technique that will have its uses at some points in the story. I'm _hoping_ to have chapter 19 up by the end of this weekend, but won't guarantee it as work is beginning to pick up. That being said, I'm excited for a lot of the upcoming content, so I'm relatively motivated to write it up. The following chapter or two will have fights, some movement behind the scenes, the beginnings of fluff, and an explanation of some of Naruto's techniques. Look for updates soon. As always, Read and Review.

**IMPORTANT (same as above):** for those of you who read chapter 17 before today (6/10/09), I have changed the match ups for the finals. Several people complained about Naruto fighting another Hyuuga and, while I had some interesting ideas for that fight, the new match ups are more unique and actually work better as a whole for the progression of the story. Look back at chapter 17 for the updated brackets.

Jutsu Library:

**Futon: Rasen Shuriken****-**Wind Element: Spiral Shuriken

**Oiroke no Jutsu-**Sexy Technique


	20. Chapter 19: Naruto's Test

A/N: Sorry I didn't get this out yesterday, life was a bit busier than expected. Thanks to Leafy for her beta work.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 19**

As they walked in relative silence, Ino found her eyes continually darting back to the boy next to her. He was acting completely contrary to any interaction with him or description of him that she'd ever heard of. Gone was the carefree expression or even the battle hardened expression he wears during combat. Instead, Naruto had a face of extreme contemplation. While she really expected him to jump at the chance to show off his skills, she was actually impressed that her fellow Gennin was considering the task as important as she felt it was. '_Oh, what the hell_.' she thought deciding to humor the boy and led him to his favorite ramen restaurant. '_I'm asking him for a big favor, and he _is_ paying after all_.'

So consumed was Naruto with his thoughts, that he didn't even notice the change in direction or the venue which he was led to. It didn't click at all until after he took his seat and heard a voice address him. "Why Naruto, what a pretty date. And you brought her hear of all places? Ayame, a pair of house specials on the house for our number one customer and his pretty girlfriend."

Looking up in shock to find old man Teuchi and his daughter looking down at him, Naruto noticed the blushing Ino beside him. After many a failed situation with Sakura, Naruto knew he needed to act quickly if he were going to diffuse the potentially volatile situation. "Please Teuchi-san, I insist on paying. How do you ever hope to turn a profit if you're always giving away free food? As for my companion here, I cannot claim the honor of having one as pretty as her as my date. This is my teammate Yamanaka Ino and we're simply here to grab some lunch as I consider a training exercise she suggested to me."

Ino gaped at the boy next to her, her blush deepening slightly at his words before she managed to reign it back in. Turning to Naruto as the friendly man's attention turned elsewhere their first orders already entered. "Wow Naruto, when did you become so smooth."

Grinning sheepishly he replied, "I spent the last three years with a self-proclaimed super pervert. I couldn't stand getting beaten to a pulp along with him every time he got himself caught peeping into the ladies baths. So, eventually I learned that if I was friendly, respectful, and lightly complimentary many times I could avoid association with the pervert even when he undoubtedly led the mob of angry women directly to my location. Beyond that, I had enough experiences with someone incorrectly assuming Sakura was my girlfriend that I figured I'd diffuse the situation before I got hurt."

Ino couldn't help but snort at her fellow blonde's explanation. "Well, I appreciate the gesture, but I can assure you I'm not nearly as violent as forehead girl." the previous nickname now being a term of endearment rather than an insult. "Nor do I hit _nearly_ as hard." she added almost as an afterthought.

Naruto shuddered as the memory of the freakish strength Sakura had displayed back in his most recent bell test. "I don't know why the old hag thought it would be a good idea to teach a girl that prone to hitting _me_ of all people that technique of hers. She's liable to kill me one of these days. And here I thought Tsunade-baasan liked me."

Unable to contain herself, Ino laughed aloud before explaining, "Well, perhaps it may have something to do with the fact that she _hates_ being called old and has made it clear that she despises that nickname."

Naruto realized his teammate may have a point as one of his clones rather violently expired as it entered the Hokage's office. The look on the old hag's face was priceless as the object of her frustration disappeared rather than fly backwards. As Ayame dropped by the food for each of them, Naruto returned to his contemplation eating far more slowly than usual (about the speed of a _normal _person).

Glancing yet again at her companion, Ino was yet again surprised by his behavior. Everything he had done since she had asked for his help in her training was so, un-Naruto-like (yes, she just made up that word). From what Sakura had told her, Naruto's meal manners could at best be described as 'shoveling food into his mouth so fast it will make your head spin' where of course talking with his mouth full was an expected occurrence. And yet, here she was sharing a quiet, leisurely meal with the blonde pariah.

So far, Naruto had come to the conclusion that he _could_ train her. Considering his mass use of clones, it wouldn't really affect his training. For the most part, he could always just send a clone to offer her advice if he wanted to do physical exercises of his own. Though no longer the obnoxious braggart he once was, realistically, Naruto knew that he had quite the extensive jutsu reservoir and battle experience, surely he could help his friend improve in some way. The question was, where should he start and how much should he even consider revealing? Fortunately, he had his clones working on that. "So, Ino, what is your reason for being a shinobi? Why do you strive to continue to get stronger?" he asked, knowing that her answer would be filed away with the other information he would soon be receiving.

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Minutes earlier in the Hokage's office…

"Hey baa-san! I need…" was all the clone got out as it burst into the Hokage's room before the Slug Sannin's chakra enhanced fist caused the poor thing to literally explode.

Eye twitching, Tsunade spun around in search of the elusive blonde. "Where's the real you Naruto?" she asked finding several identical chakra signatures hiding just outside the doors to her office having seen what she had done to their comrade.

"He's at lunch with the Yamanaka girl." replied one taking charge as the group of identical shinobi entered the office. '_It's a good thing he sent a group of us or he'd never get the information he wanted…_' "He sent us in his stead on a pressing matter."

Understandably curious, Tsunade lowered her still-fisted hand and motioned for the clone to continue.

Seeing that they weren't about to be massacred by the temperamental Hokage, the group relaxed and the same clone continued, "Ino asked the boss if we would be willing to help her in her training as her normal instructor is currently away on a mission and won't return for the next two weeks."

Not really seeing where this is going, but understanding the girl's plight as she was the one to assign the mission to help the still-grieving ANBU, Tsunade simply quirked and eyebrow and asked, "And?"

"The boss considers Ino his friend, so his natural inclination is to want to help, but though he has no reason to truly _distrust_ her, he doesn't know her all that well and has little reason to _trust _her. After the Uchiha's betrayal, he figured he may as well dig a bit deeper before committing. He has no intention of helping unless totally sure of where her loyalties lie."

Surprised at her favorite Gennin's distrusting, yet mature thoughts, Tsunade sat back in her chair and asked, "What do you need from me?"

"I want to hear all of your personal thoughts on Ino and her allegiance to Konoha while my comrades read her personal file and the files on the Yamanaka clan and Uzuki Yuugao and her team. Also, if it wouldn't endanger her mission, I want to know Yuugao's current location."

"Impossible! Personal files are confidential. Surely you know that."

"This is me we're talking about baa-san." the clone replied without thinking. Seeing the vein pulsing on the buxom woman's forehead, he took a step back and continued quickly. "You can trust me. I'm not after anything unbecoming, and if you didn't trust me with information, you wouldn't have allowed Jiraiya to teach me darn near everything he knows. I'm simply hoping to help out a promising Konoha shinobi and friend."

Sighing in resignation, Tsunade simply couldn't argue with that. "Wait here." She said as she went to retrieve the requested information.

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Throughout Konoha, various clones were having similar conversations with people connected to Ino. Her former Jounin sensei, Sarutobi Asuma, her parents, and the other members of the ANBU team to which Ino belonged (Yuugao had left on a solo mission) were amongst those on the list. As is turns out, Yuugao's mission had only begun the day before, so she really was not too far away. Gathering a large amount of chakra, one clone summoned a large toad which bounded in the direction she was headed to get her thoughts on her pupil.

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'_It's official_.' Thought Naruto as the information flooded to him. '_Everything came back spotless-Ino is one well-liked and trusted kunoichi_.' Sighing in relief, he quickly downed the rest of his bowl. Despite having eaten slowly, it did nothing for Naruto's vivacious appetite. Downing 12 bowls of ramen at a normal pace had kept the pair occupied and chatting aimlessly at Ichiraku for over two hours. Turning to his companion who was in the midst of telling him a rather amusing story of the hoops she had to jump through for Yuugo to take her on as her apprentice, Naruto grinned at her.

Despite his smiles and chuckles about the story, the sudden, overly large smile was so surprising that Ino halted in her recount. Somewhat disturbed by the Cheshire grin she asked, "What?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, but I just came to my decision." Seeing her raised eyebrow in question and anticipation, he decided to spare her having to ask. "I'll be glad to teach you whatever I can to help."

"Just like that?" she asked, confused. "We've been here for two hours and all of a sudden you've come to a decision? It was as though you suddenly had some sort of revelation." her sharp mind understandably skeptical.

Paying the bill and waving to the owner, Naruto motioned for her to follow him out of the restaurant. "Well, I may as well tell you I suppose-someone's doubtless to mention it to you." Completely confused, Ino just continued to give him a questioning look. "While we ate, I did in fact consider your request. However, beyond that, I sent out clones to gather information on you."

Kinda creeped out by the information, she posed the obvious question. "What information? Why?"

Predicting an explosion upon revealing why, Naruto began to pick up the pace. "Multiple things and reasons. Overall I was checking into your background. No offence, but while I have no reason not to trust you, I don't really know you well enough to simply trust you implicitly."

Yep…an explosion was definitely coming if the color of Ino's face and clenched fists were any indication. Trying to cut it off before it began, Naruto held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Ino, it's not that I suspected you of being a potential traitor or anything, but I needed to make sure. After Sasuke, I'm a bit less trusting than I once was. If I'm to help you train, I'm going to give it my all. That may mean teaching you secret, personal, or forbidden jutsus or training exercises and I _cannot_ teach those to anyone I don't know I can trust with them."

At the mention of Sasuke's name, Ino's anger abated slightly (as she knew his betrayal was a sore topic for Naruto), enough that she actually processed his words. Despite really disliking the breach of privacy as well as the knowledge that he didn't feel he could simply trust in her, she found that she really couldn't argue with his reasoning. Besides, ultimately, he had decided to help her which showed that his trust in her was now iron clad. That didn't mean that she didn't still want to kick his ass.

Seeing the emotions play across Ino's face, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, drawing her attention as they walked back into the training grounds. "Let me guess, you understand where I'm coming form, yet you still desire to give me a good thrashing." At her surprised look, he added, "No, I'm not a mind reader-that's more your department-I was just going by what I would likely feel in a similar situation. Fortunately, you're in luck! You're going to get your chance now. Our first exercise will be an all out fight between us-don't hold anything back." Not giving her even another second to prepare, Naruto launched himself at the surprised girl.

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"You're leaving already Tsuchikage-sama?" Tsunade asked politely, though she was inwardly ecstatic at getting rid of the man.

"Sadly, yes. While visiting Konoha is always a pleasure, as I'm sure you know, I can't simply allow my country to run itself for a month." came the diplomatic reply. "However, my team shall stay as is the custom and I will certainly return for the finals. As Iwa makes up nearly half of the participants, I have no doubt a contingency of spectators shall accompany me back as well. Please save a section for my compatriots."

"Of course, and of course congratulations to your team, you have clearly trained them well. Have a safe journey." As the other Kage left, Tsunade was left deep in thought. She simply could not shake the feeling that something was up with the Iwa Gennin team. Their paperwork certainly checked out, but Gennin of their ability and age would certainly have graduated to Chuunin rank by now. Add in their unexpected, late entry and fascination with Naruto and the busty Hokage couldn't help but wonder.

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Not a half-mile after the Tsuchikage had left the gates of Konoha was he approached by a cloaked figure. Not in the least bit surprised by the appearance, the Tsuchikage addressed the stranger, "I'm surprised you waited this long to make contact."

"I had other assignments to take care of." the man responded, glasses flashing below the hood. "I assume you found our information accurate."

The Kage nodded, fist clenched. "Yes, and my team shall be fixing that mistake in a month's time unless the opportunity should present itself beforehand."

"Your actions are your own prerogative; Orochimaru-sama has no vested interest in the boy. However, he will call on you one day soon. I hope you keep our assistance in mind when the time comes."

"While I certainly appreciate the opportunity to erase _that_ man's blood from this earth, I will not set myself within the snake's jaws. All this information has bought him is the opportunity to address me directly without having to fear for his own life."

"Very well then, let us hope that our interests align-I would hate to see the result should you throw aside Orochimaru-sama's generosity." the still cloaked man smirked as he saw the Tsuchikage visibly stiffen. This man feared, and rightly so, Orochimaru's power and brilliance, even with the disability bestowed by the Sandaime Hokage. Certainly he will bend to their will. Seeing that he had overstepped his welcome with the not so subtle threat, Kabuto bid his leave with a wave as he disintegrated into dust.

'_Tsuchi bunshin?_' thought the strongest of the Land of Earth surprised by the other's clear lack of respect for not appearing himself. He was no fool-when he acted upon the information Orochimaru had provided, he knew he was setting himself in the man's debt. For any other situation, he would have avoided the snake entirely, but sometimes one must make a deal with the devil to destroy their personal demons.

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Ino rolled to her feet, already panting. She knew that her fellow graduate was good-it was after all why she asked him for his assistance-but this was just ridiculous. Since the moment Naruto had first charged, Ino had constantly been on the defensive. His clones mobbed around her from all sides preventing any sort of counterattack. Every time she used a kawarimi, the moment she switched, the clones were already approaching her location. After ten minutes of utilizing the five D's (dodge, duck, dip, dive, and…dodge) and blocking the never ending attack, one of the clones appeared before her and had sent her tumbling with a kick to the gut.

With Naruto's superfluous use of clones, he was the worst possible opponent for her. Not ever having fought against more than a few opponents simultaneously, the sheer amount of information her bloodline was picking up from them as they attacked was making it impossible for her to sort through it fast enough to predict all of their movements. It was only her battle-trained reflexes that had allowed her to deal with the first wave of attacks for so long.

Finally gaining a moment free of attack, Ino took the offered time to draw her blades. Thanks to her kekkai genkai, she knew exactly where the real blonde was hiding, but unfortunately, that meant clones couldn't be tracked with her mantra. Despite her initial lack of success, she felt much more confident now that she could use her kodachis. As an army of clones jumped towards her again, she cast an area genjutsu to disorient them slightly as she jumped in the air to avoid the onslaught. As the clones proceeded to engage her illusion in taijutsu, she landed lightly in the midst of the group. "**Tatsumaki**." she yelled, spinning as the familiar tornado of wind obliterated every clone within 15 feet of her.

Coming out of her spin, Ino was already prepared for her next technique, blade of one kodachi resting on the thumb of her right hand, the other blade held expertly in a backwards grip, the smooth side resting against the outside of her arm. Aiming for the branch she knew Naruto to be hiding on, she called out, "**Gatotsu**!" before thrusting her left hand forward firing the 'bullet' of chakra at her opponent.

Flipping backwards off of the branch, Naruto dodged the attack. Drawing a kunai as he fell to the ground below, his hands almost reflexively coming together to form seals. No sooner did his foot touch the ground did he hurl the kunai at towards Ino and call out, "**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." The single kunai replicated until there was a wall of projectiles heading towards the kenjutsu specialist.

The moment the real Naruto's back had appeared to her, Ino had quickly formed hand seals and, instead of dodging the projectiles, Ino simply exploded into a cloud of sakura blossoms which proceeded to turn razor sharp and assault the clones. Ino was no fool, she knew that for a ninja of Naruto's caliber, the genjutsu she had cast would likely be broken within a few seconds. With that in mind, the moment she had cast the genjutsu, Ino had also tossed a hail of shuriken towards the clones and run as quickly as possible towards the real Naruto, kenjutsu technique already prepared.

With a pulse of Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto dispelled Ino's impressive genjutsu. Not only had she avoided his attack, but had also hidden her shuriken within the genjutsu's razor pedals allowing her to eliminate a couple clones. Breaking from genjutsu was one trick that Naruto had picked up while training with Jiraiya. Of course, there are three methods for someone not possessing a doujutsu to break out of a genjutsu: disrupt one's own chakra flow, have someone touch the affected person and disrupt their chakra flow for them, or the most unlikely, knock out or kill the caster while under the genjutsu's effect's. Well, Naruto was rubbish as disrupting his chakra flow, particularly enough to break a strong genjutsu, but fortunately, he had the unimaginably powerful chakra of the Kyuubi on hand which he could call on and force the genjutsu to break.

Even breaking the genjutsu almost instantly, Naruto found the seconds before he noticed to be costly for, as the genjutsu vanished, he found Ino practically on top of him kodachi coming across in a cross strike. Ducking under the first strike, Naruto jumped backwards to dodge the follow-up strike of her second blade.

Expecting these maneuvers, Ino spun herself back into her Gatotsu stance and sent another bullet of chakra at the airborne shinobi less than five feet from her. The bullet tore through the whiskered Gennin which puffed away to evidence a kawarimi. Sensing the approach of clones from all sides, Ino jumped as she twisted her body quickly. "**Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren**" she called, blades of wind extending several feet from her kodachis, slicing several clones around her to pieces. While not affecting nearly as large an area as Tatsumai, Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren required far less chakra from her and was a devastatingly lethal defensive technique able to kill multiple opponents simultaneously.

Coming out of her spin, Ino focused on the actual Naruto. Gleaming his surface thoughts as mist began to fill the area from his **Kirigakure no Jutsu**, Ino dropped to the ground below the low-sitting mist as water-enhanced lightning crackled above her. Forming the modified hand seals that all kenjutsu users learn to perform jutsu while holding their sword(s), Ino stuck her blades into the ground and whispered, "**Doryuu Tsuuga**." aiming for the actual Naruto. The ground exploded forward from the front of her swords, the earth jumping up and forming spikes in an ever-expanding V.

Mist already thinning, Naruto managed to see the danger in time and jumped into the air to avoid the earth spikes. Looking down, he watched as Ino took aim and fired another **Gatotsu** in his direction. '_**Geppou**__._' he thought pushing off the air to dodge.

'_Shit, I forgot he could do that._' thought Ino as Naruto casually landed several dozen yards away. Beginning to feel the effects of the prolonged battle, Ino knew she needed to finish the fight quickly-she was not the stamina freak that Naruto was. In order to have a chance, she knew she needed to bring the fight into close quarters, but Naruto was staunchly refusing to allow her to engage him directly for more than a second at a time.

Naruto was shocked as Ino seemingly vanished from where she was standing only to materialize instantly in front of him, cool steal piercing his stomach. Coughing up blood, from the impaling kodachi, Naruto tried weakly to raise his hands to block the strike of the other blade, already arcing down to cleave his head from his shoulders. As a nearby clone released itself, his eyes widened. Calling forth Kyuubi's chakra once again, his executor and injuries vanished with the genjutsu, but the very real threat of a rapidly approaching Ino was the sight to greet him. Jumping backwards to put some distance between them, Naruto didn't even have time to raise his hands before she called out, "**Raikyuu**!" and launched the ball of lightning which formed between the tips of her blade at him, its speed increased by her forward momentum.

Smirking in triumph as Naruto had no time to dodge or block, Ino was shocked as the explosion revealed a wall of earth had blocked her attack. '_Shit, the clones can perform jutsu!_' Cursing herself for her forgetfulness, she ducked and weaved through the fireballs sent from her left by another clone's **Katon: Housenka no Jutsu**. Using a kawarimi to escape a hail of projectile weapons, she realized he was again using his clones to stall her while he put distance between them. Diving away out of the way of yet another clone's jutsu, she tucked and rolled preparing to launch herself after her opponent the moment her feet touched the ground. She would have done just that, too, had he not materialized at her side, left hand lightly touching her stomach. Flexing her abdominal muscles out of habit to absorb the blow as he gently said, "**Impact**." Ino was still unprepared for the concussion of power that forced the air from her lungs and sent her skidding across the ground.

Despite the pain and lack of energy, she forced herself back to her feet as quickly as possible, eyes carefully scouting for her opponent. Surprisingly, he was standing a few feet away from her, hands raised in a gesture of peace. "That's enough Ino." he said. "I've got all that I need."

As her adrenaline abated, Ino blissfully succumbed to unconsciousness from the physical, mental and chakra exhaustion she was feeling from the prolonged fighting and use of several high-level jutsu.

Looking down at the sleeping girl, Naruto mentally slapped himself. Okay, so, _maybe_ he'd overdone it, but at least know he knew exactly what his teammate was capable of. Already forming a training schedule in his mind, Naruto gently lifted the sleeping girl bridal style and quickly darted off towards her house. While it was still early, Naruto was sure that his blonde friend would surely happily sleep until the next morning. It was just a good thing that he had read those files earlier so she knew where she lived. He didn't want to imagine the fallout if she were to not return home that night.

Despite Naruto's care to jostle the girl as little as possible, the feeling of movement and rush of wind shook Ino slightly back into consciousness. Not truly aware of the world around her with the bone-deep exhaustion coursing through her, she simply nuzzled deeper into the warmth that was enveloping her and relaxed back to sleep, a contented smile on her face.

* * *

A/N: Long chapter, but I hope you like it. We've only got one more chapter and then we'll reach the finals and the plot can begin moving forward. I should get chapter 20 up by the end of the week, so look for it then. As always, R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Tatsumaki-**Dragon Twister

**Gatotsu-**(Attack much like that used by Saito Hajime in Rurouni Kenshin. Fires a projectile of chakra from the top of the thrust.)

**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**-Kunai Shadow Clone Technique

**Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren**-Spinning-Heavenly Sword-Dance Six-Series or The Dance Of The Wheeling Sword Six Successions

**Kirigakure no Jutsu**-Hidden Mist Technique

**Doryuu Tsuuga**-Earth Dragon Piercing Fang

**Geppou**-Moon Step (Allows user to jump on air as though solid)

**Raikyuu**-Lightning Ball

**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu**-Fire Element: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique

**Impact**-**Impact** (Taijutsu move allowing user to deal massive, internal damage to opponent)


	21. Chapter 20: Training Days

A/N: Finally got a chapter out by the day I hoped to. Thanks as always to my beta for cleaning up my mistakes. Without further ado, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 20**

Groggily, Ino rolled onto her side and slowly opened her eyes. Memory coming back to her, she instantly spring awake, eyes sweeping her surroundings. The last thing she expected was to find that she had woken up in her room. Glancing at her bedside clock, her eyes widened-apparently she'd slept for over 16 hours. Next to the clock, was a note written in a script she didn't recognize. '_Hope you slept well. Meet me at the same training field whenever you get up, we'll begin your training then. –Naruto.' _

Immediately after reading the note, Ino hopped out of the bed and began to prepare for the day. '_That bastard better have a damn good reason for that stunt yesterday._' she thought as she grabbed her shinobi gear. Seeing that her parents were apparently already gone for the day, Ino made herself a light breakfast. Ever since she started to take her training seriously, her need to diet evaporated. Regardless, she had never been much of a breakfast person, even now only eating it when she expected to need the energy.

Hunger satiated, Ino left the house jumping to the roof of the building she set out quickly in the direction of the training ground. Arriving a few minutes later, Ino found it in similar state to how it was yesterday, Naruto clones running here and there in some task or another. Using her mantra to locate the actual Naruto, she made her way over to the one doing push-ups by himself, a large rock balanced on his back.

Noticing her presence thanks to a clone dispelling itself, Naruto stopped his exercises, rock rolling off his back as he ceased the chakra holding it in place, and stood to greet her. Unable to help herself, a blush crept to her face as she found he was shirtless, her eyes unconsciously and automatically tracing the muscles of his chest and stomach. She found that Naruto wasn't absurdly muscular, not like Gai or even Asuma, but the muscles he did have were toned to a ridiculous level, the contours of each clearly visible.

Her view suddenly obstructed as he tossed his shirt back on, a slight smirk on his face as he caught her looking, Ino snapped back to her reasons for being there. Brushing the thoughts of his half naked form aside, Ino buried her blush and screamed in a most unladylike manner a few feet from his face "What the hell was that yesterday?!"

Ignoring the girl's obvious frustration, Naruto simply smiled and replied, "I needed to see your limits. We haven't been a team that long, so I really didn't know what I should teach you-now I've got what I think to be a good list in mind."

Holding back the retort already forming in her throat, Ino took a deep breath, "And just what's that?" she asked actually curious.

"All-in-all, you're really good. You were correct in your assumptions of your ability. From what I've seen, I would estimate you to be a solid Jounin overall, not yet to the level of Kakashi or even Asuma, but I'll be you could give Kurenai a run for her money, those were some impressive genjutsu." Seeing her flush at the praise, Naruto mentally gave himself a pat on the back-he was getting better and better at dealing with women. Now though, for the bad part… "However, your weakest points are your stamina, both physical and chakra capacity, and your speed. Your kekkai genkai really is remarkable, allowing you to predict my attacks early enough that you were able to compensate for the difference in speed and for the most part avoid my attacks, but by holding a mid-to-long range fight, I was able to basically render your attacks useless. The training that I have in mind is going to work on improving all three of these simultaneously."

Gritting her teeth slightly as Naruto tore down the pedestal her ego had been sitting on, she asked the obvious question, "And how're we going to do that?"

"Easy, I'm going to teach you **Soru**."

Despite the fact that she was standing still, Ino tripped at that. Her previous frustration with the blonde for his distrust of her or for fighting her to the point of exhaustion the day before immediately forgotten. One doesn't teach their personal techniques lightly, not to mention she had seen the merits of this particular technique in action and was practically drooling at the prospect of learning it. Speechless, the girl flashed her comrade and instructor a winning smile.

"But, before you'll be able to learn that, I'll need to teach you **Kage Bunshin**."

Ino damn near fainted at those words. Kage bunshin was a jutsu she had been wanting to learn for years, ever since she'd first seen him use it in the Chuunin exams in fact. Once she began under the tutelage of Yuugao, she recognized the extreme advantage such a technique had for a kenjutsu user. Alas, as a forbidden technique, the knowledge on how to perform it was restricted to those of Jounin rank (and apparently Naruto). Not even once she joined ANBU had the Hokage released the restriction for her. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, Ino began to pay rapt attention.

"However, before I teach you either of these techniques, I'll need your word that you will not teach them to another sole without my express permission. Kage bunshin in particular in the hands of someone not prepared for it can be lethal."

Not being able to find a scroll with particulars about the jutsu, Ino was surprised by this news though, as it was a forbidden jutsu, perhaps she shouldn't have been. "I promise Naruto." she stated resolutely.

Smiling at her, Naruto noticed the momentary confused look. "I had probably best start at the beginning." he said, sitting down and motioning for her to do the same. "Kage bunshin has many applications beyond the obvious use of multiple bodies. In fact, I'd say this is the least of its merits. A fully functioning kage bunshin when destroyed or released will convey anything it has learned to the user." Seeing her eyes widen at the implications, Naruto motioned to the clones throughout the clearing. "As I'm sure you've now realized, though I'm sitting here talking to you, I'm actually getting quite a bit of training done even as we speak. The one thing clones are unable to improve upon is anything physical, hence the training I was doing when you arrived. The technique splits any chakra remaining after the jutsu is used amongst the clones summoned. This means that the clones are indistinguishable from the original for those with a doujutsu. Also, as you've seen, it enables the clones to use jutsu, though, for the most part, I don't recommend this for you."

"Why's that?" she interrupted, surprised by his suggesting against this very useful aspect.

"For starters, the jutsu itself is _very_ costly on chakra and any chakra not used by a clone when it vanishes for one reason or other will return to the original. Beyond that, as I've already told you, your chakra capacity is one of your weak points and, while it's possible to increase your chakra stores, it's a very slow and exhausting process."

Seeing her nod at his explanation, Naruto continued, "However, as I alluded to before, kage bunshin is a forbidden jutsu for a reason. The most obvious reason is the high level of chakra required to cast it to begin with. For inexperienced or weaker shinobi, this can cause chakra exhaustion and death very easily. However, for experienced shinobi, as long as they keep in mind their limitations and the chakra needed to summon the clones, chakra exhaustion is less of a worry. However, even for someone with my chakra capacity, if I have clones casting jutsu I'll run out of chakra very quickly. The biggest reason that kage bunshin is forbidden is its affects on the mind. The information received when a clone is dispelled forcefully or by choice is directed back to the user as well as any remaining clones. If too many clones are released at once, the information overload can destroy the mind leaving the person as little more than a vegetable."

Eyes widening at the unexpected dangers associated with the jutsu, Ino glanced around the clearing with a perplexed look at the hundreds of clones running around, casting various jutsu, and puffing out of existence with reckless abandon.

Chuckling at her confusion, Naruto went ahead and answered her unanswered question. "I'm probably the only person able to utilize kage bunshin to its full extent thanks to the Kyuubi. I never thought I'd be thankful to the bastard fox, but it provides me with certain advantages, not the least of which, a nearly unlimited chakra store and a healing ability which extends to mental strain." What Naruto didn't bother to explain was that because of his unique situation, every clone actually had full access to Kyuubi's chakra rather than just a fraction according to how many clones were active. Each of Naruto's clones did possess the Shiki Fuujin seal on their stomach through which they were able to tap into the reservoir of chakra that existed within. Thus, when Naruto's clones performed jutsu, they were not burning through Naruto's own chakra but rather that of his tenant.

"For you, I'd say, to be safe, never summon more than 20 clones at one time even for training. While you could summon more and stagger their release, if something should happen and they all release at once, twenty would be a safe number though you'd probably be left with a migraine."

Having covered the basics, Naruto stood up and, offering her his hand to help her up, said "Alright then, the jutsu itself is relatively simple." He showed her the hand seal required and gave her pointers on how much chakra the jutsu required. Not a half hour later, Ino was blanketed in sweat, panting, and shaking slightly from the beginnings of chakra exhaustion, but a full twenty perfectly made clones stood next to her.

"Good work." Naruto told her. "Now, it's time for the real training to start." The glare Ino sent towards him at those was so fierce that he had little doubt it would have been able to wilt the flowers her family is so well known for growing. Laughing at the girls expense, Naruto continued, "Relax, your only job for the moment at least is going to be to sit there and gather your chakra as I explain how **Soru **works. Your _clones_, however, will be doing a chakra control exercise I invented awhile back."

"Why the chakra control? I've already mastered tree climbing, water walking, and the rest of the techniques they teach, shouldn't that be enough?" asked the perplexed Ino.

"In theory yes, but this advanced chakra control exercise will drastically cut down on the overall time it takes to learn. Let me explain…**Soru** was my attempt at recreating the Yondaime's famous **Hiraishin no Jutsu**. Clearly, I failed in that endeavor, I even know why, but that's a story for another day. The idea behind **Soru** stemmed from my work on the **Rasengan**. On the offhand you aren't familiar with it, **Rasengan** is a condensed, swirling ball of raw chakra." he explained, aforementioned jutsu forming in his hand.

Having never seen the jutsu before, Ino was transfixed by the vortex of power held within her fellow shinobi's hand. As suddenly as it appeared, it suddenly blinked out of existence.

Waving over a clone, Naruto continued, "What I learned while experimenting with the jutsu is that chakra has a maximal density it can form. After that, it becomes very unstable." Naruto gestured to the clone indicating for it to demonstrate.

"Awww, come on!" the clone whined.

"What? Do you expect me to do it? You at least won't have to deal with the aftermath." Naruto chastised the whining clone.

"Talking to yourself?" came the playful jibe from his left. "Isn't that a clear sign of insanity."

Both Narutos present grinned at their blonde friend. "Very well." said the clone forming the swirling ball of chakra. "I like this one, she's got spunk." As the two watched, the ball slowly shrank in size as the clone concentrated on condensing it. Without warning, however, the jutsu destabilized and the clone practically evaporated from the waist up before it disappeared into smoke.

Seeing Ino's shocked expression at the clone's violent demise, Naruto continued. "That's a substantially more powerful than what you're hoping to harness, but the concept is the same. **Soru** uses the force of this explosion to propel oneself forward at far faster speeds than can be achieved naturally. The force of the explosion is dependent upon the amount of chakra contained. However, you can't just push chakra into the ground-rather than condensing, it will simply disperse. In order to get around this, you have to stomp the ground ten times in an instant, each time pushing chakra into the same spot before it is able to dissipate. The key is to balance the resulting explosion so that you get the momentum you're looking for without blowing off your leg. This is where the clones come in as I can't instruct you how much chakra to use; you'll have to experiment with that for yourself."

Ino was in awe. The ingenuity required for creating such a technique was monumental, and only someone who knows kage bunshin would even be able to experiment with the technique should they think of it. "Why ten times?"

"From my tests, I found that simply trying to force a large amount of chakra at once is unable to condense it the way it needs to. However, if you force the chakra multiple times before it can dissipate, the chakra will condense until it reaches the critical level and explodes. Ten is the only number of steps I've found that was able to form the required density. It's up to your clones to figure out how quickly to step and how much chakra to use."

"Now," said Naruto, flashing a dangerous smile towards his student, "let's get to work on that stamina of yours."

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

By lunch time, Ino was seriously regretting asking her blond friend for help. Her body was hardly able to move after the ridiculous exercises that he ceaselessly forced her to do. She wasn't even able to use her chakra as every five minutes he was having her release the clone furthest along in its chakra control exercise and every 100 minutes summon 20 new clones to continue the exercise, keeping her reserves at the very minimal of levels.

Despite Naruto allowing her to choose the restaurant for their meal, Ino hardly had the energy to lift her arms, so enjoying the food just simply wasn't an option. On the positive side, the lunch break gave her a much needed reprieve which gave her the opportunity to regain her energy, both physical and chakra. Though a blessing, she knew that she would need every bit she could muster for the hellish training that was sure to ensue after lunch.

Hoping to prolong her brief respite, Ino looked towards her companion and asked, "So, how exactly did I get home last night?"

Naruto had the decency to blush as he recalled the previous afternoon.

-----Flashback-----

_Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Naruto had to marvel at just how light the girl was. Sure he was actually pretty strong, but despite her years of training, Ino seemed practically weightless. He never really noticed it despite the time spent together as teammates, but with his growth spurt while he was with Jiraiya, Ino was now far smaller than he was, probably barely coming to his shoulders. _

_As he ran past the hospital he heard and an indignant shriek. Turning to the source of the voice, he found none other than Sakura jumping towards him. "Naruto? What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she cried out indicating the prone form in his arms. _

"_Sakura," addressed Naruto, "exactly what do you think is going on?" _

"_Why don't you tell me? First, I hear you're out on a lunch date with my best friend and now I find that you're carrying her unconscious through the town. What am I supposed to think?" she screamed at him._

"_Sakura. Sakura. Sakura." Naruto chastised. "Always so quick to judge. You're just lucky that Ino's so exhausted, you're shouting's loud enough to wake the dead. You know what, make what you want out of this, I'm getting Ino home now. With a pop, several clones came into existence impeding Sakura's progress as Naruto shunshinned away._

_Arriving quickly at the home of the Yamanakas, Naruto rapped lightly on the door. With Ino's mother tending the flower shop next door, it was Yamanaka Inoichi who answered the door. _

"_When you came asking about training my daughter, I didn't think this was the type of training you had in mind." he said smiling as the boy blushed at the implied connotation. "Come on in, Ino's room is down that hall, first door on the left." _

_After Naruto placed Ino gently in her bed, he went to take his leave. As his hand reached for the door, Inoichi's voice from behind him halted him momentarily. "So, is this likely to be a reoccurring occurrence?" Naruto's almost predatory grin was all the answer he needed._

-----End Flashback-----

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

The month of training passed quickly for the two blondes. The next two weeks proceeded much like the first day of training. Each day, Ino woke up in her bed with the clear knowledge that she had not gotten there of her own volition. Struggling out of bed, she cursed her blonde friend as her body would protest her every movement. She'd get to the training grounds and immediately create 20 clones who would work on the chakra control exercise, at least until she mastered that in which case they proceeded to blowing themselves up trying to learn Naruto's creation. After a quick warm up and stretching, she began ceaseless physical activity (only pausing for lunch and to create clones when applicable) until her body could no longer move, at which point Naruto would carry her home, to repeat the process all over again.

Despite the endless torturous exercises, Ino could certainly not doubt their effectiveness. Even she could feel the improvements to her physical stamina and chakra capacity. Even with the clones turning each day of training into two-thirds of a month, it took Ino almost the entire two weeks to learn master soru. Due to her small but steadily increasing chakra supply, Ino could only use soru in a very limited manner, but the benefits far outweighed the chakra cost.

At the end of their two weeks together, Yuugao returned from her mission and took over the remainder of Ino's training to work on incorporating her new skill into her kenjutsu. While Ino certainly didn't miss the exhausting physical training that Naruto continually put her through, after their training days ended, she did find that she missed his company. The two weeks of spending nearly every waking moment together had certainly brought the two closer, not to mention their daily lunches. Tomorrow, however, they would find themselves as enemies, for the Chuunin exam finals were set to begin.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to those of you who were looking for a bit more character development during the remainder of the training month, but I was really ready to get on to the finals and some more plot development. I'll also apologize about the scene with Sakura, it was kind of weak. Hope everyone likes the explanation on the workings of Soru. I tried to keep the actual methodology similar to that of one piece (or the shukuchi fom Kenshin) while providing an explanation for how it could actually function. I also have an explanation for each of the rest of Naruto's taijutsu techniques, Rokushiki which I'll likely be revealing in the authors notes of chapters they appear in (since explaining them in the plot would be forced).

Jutsu Library:

**Soru-**Shave (Taijutsu technique allowing user to move at rapid speeds by stomping the ground 10 times in an instant, concentrating chakra into the ground until it explodes to propel the person forward)

**Kage Bunshin-**Shadow Clone

**Hiraishin no Jutsu-**Flying Thunder God Technique

**Rasengan-**Spiral Sphere


	22. Chapter 21: Chuunin Exam Finals: Round 1

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, needed to wait for my beta to get a chance to go over it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Chapter 21**

Having learned from their previous mistakes, the Chuunin exam finals were no longer being held in the stadium in the village proper. Rather, to limit the possibility of an invasion, a new stadium had been erected within the outer walls of the village, but also secluded via an interior wall. As Naruto walked into the sun of the balcony of the waiting area, he couldn't help but smile in reminiscence. It was exactly as he remembered from his last exam so many years ago. The stadium, packed with people on all sides present to witness the fighting to come. Times were far less complex then, the biggest worries he had at the time were the imminent fight with Hyuuga Neji and the inevitable showdown with Sasuke should they both proceed. Now with Orochimaru's invasion, Sasuke's betrayal, and the ever present threat of Akatsuki, life was not nearly as simple for our favorite demon container.

Looking across the arena, he found he was rather impressed. So as to not provide as balanced an exam as possible, the arena was laid out with many different terrains: forested area, a large lake with streams running throughout, nearly one third was barren and covered in sand, etc.

Looking up to the kage's box, Naruto found the trifecta of Kages already assembled. Catching the eye of the Kazekage, Naruto smiled. '_Good,_' thought Naruto. '_with Gaara here, I don't have to worry about Tsunade-baasan in the event something should happen like last time_.' Gaara had certainly changed over the last three years. Gone were the characteristic shadows around his eyes, thanks to Jiraiya's work on his seal, and his increased height and Kage's robes gave the teenager an air of power. Feeling movement behind him, Naruto turned only to end up encased up to his neck in sand.

"You've gotten sloppy." Gaara said simply having appeared in the box behind Naruto.

As the endangered Naruto suddenly popped out of existence, a smile formed on the young Kazekage's face. "Or, perhaps not."

"As talkative as always, Gaara." came the lighthearted voice from behind him. The sand rising reflexively, Naruto simply brushed it aside as his hand came to rest on his friend's shoulder. "It's been a long time-congratulations on your new position."

"Indeed it has. As much as I'd love to catch up, now probably isn't the time, the matches ought to be starting soon. Perhaps afterwards."

Nodding to Gaara as the latter turned to have a word with his underling. "Oh, and Naruto," Gaara said, turning back, "try not to embarrass Sunagakure too much in your match."

Hands behind his head, Naruto flashed a foxy smile. As he watched, his friend conversed momentarily with his opponent-to-be before dissolving into sand, the light breeze quickly brushing away any evidence of his presence. '_Sand clone, huh?_' smirked Naruto. '_Bastard never even left his seat, no wonder I didn't notice the approach._'

"What's the matter dickless, you nervous?"

"Sai, I almost forgot you'd be here." Naruto addressed the dark-haired boy. "When are we going to get past this? After the incident in the hot springs, I'd at least have thought that you'd come up with something more applicable."

"Come on, I really didn't need the image of the two of you having an 'incident' in the hot springs right now. I'm not sure if I should blush, or be sickened." came Ino's voice as she entered the waiting area herself causing her teammates to sputter indignatly.

"Oh, great, the harpy's here." Sai said under his breath.

Putting an elbow into her teammate's ribs, Ino addressed Naruto with a smile. "Thanks again, for everything." She said, giving the boy a quick hug. "I look forward to showing you the results of my training in the finals. I think the fight will end very differently this time." she whispered into his ear.

"Oh? I look forward to the challenge." grinned Naruto, whispering back.

In an instant, Naruto visibly stiffened, all traces of humor gone. Ino instantly knew why, having felt the approach, her danger sense flaring immediately as the trio of Iwa shinobi arrived.

Moving instinctively between them and the previously gathered Gennin, a tense moment passed as the four glared at each other, barely suppressed energy crackling between them. As suddenly as it came, the moment passed and, without a backwards glance, the Iwa Gennin proceeded on into the sunlight to the cheers of the crowd.

Spinning back to his teammates, Naruto said seriously, "Both of you, be careful of them. You're both sure to fight at least one of them and I can't shake the feeling they're like us, almost comically overqualified for this exam. From what I've heard, not a single one of them even bothered training for the finals. Do _not_ underestimate them." Ino nodded while Sai made some snide comment that Naruto chose to ignore, it was up to the other boy if wanted to heed his warning.

To the roar of the crowd, Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, rose from her seat to address the masses. "Welcome one and all to the Chuunin exams finals. To our honored guests, we appreciate your being here and, of course, thank all of you for your support to Konoha and our other esteemed neighbors. I'm quite sure that you're not here to listen to me blabber on, so, without further ado…" she paused and motioned as a figure appeared in the middle of the stadium floor.

Twin parallel scars on the right side of his face, pineapple-shaped hairdo, sharp goatee adorning his chin, a man who needed no introduction, Nara Shikaku. "The rules of these matches are simple-as far as the matches go, there are no rules. A match is decided when one of the opponents concedes, loses consciousness, or dies. However, to prevent needless deaths, if I decide a match has been decided I will step in. Now, would the first competitors: Uzumaki Naruto and Ureshii Mai please come down so we can begin."

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Interesting student you have there."

Not at all surprised to hear the voice, Kankuro turned to the sound of the voice. "Thanks for giving her a chance." Naruto nodded and gave him a grin before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The match had gone as anyone could have predicted. Mai threw everything she had at Naruto, showing off a wide variety of wind jutsu, impressive battle tactics, and even unveiling her ability to control two puppets simultaneously in surprising and ingenious maneuver. However, it was all for naught-Naruto proved to be a simply overwhelming opponent. Despite the Gennin's impressive strength, Naruto walked away completely unscathed, ending the battle with a simple chop to the back of the neck when the girl had exhausted herself.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Troublesome." came the voice of the lazy Chuunin.

Moving his attention from his bag of chips, Chouji quirked an eyebrow at his oldest friend who had not even watched the match, instead watching the clouds. Of course, unlike Chouji who respected his friend's desires for peace and quiet, not all members of the once-termed rookie nine were as able to still their tongues.

"Oi! You're not even paying attention! How can you possibly have a problem?" came Kiba's loud, brash response turning his attention from the next match that was scheduled to start. Tenten, apparently taking Kiba's angle, immediately bopped the genius on the head.

Shaking his head to clear the stars that were now clouding his vision, "This whole exam is troublesome. Here we are, all tense and nervous after the attack that occurred last time we hosted the exam and yet, the results of this exam are a foregone conclusion."

"Foregone conclusion? Tell us oh wise one, just how is this going to end." asked Tenten from the row behind.

"Naruto and his team will all be promoted, Hanabi and Mai, while strong candidates, will probably be out shadowed by the strengths of Yamato's team. The rock team is a bit of a wild card, their mere presence here is a bit of a shock, and they seem to have an inexplicable hatred for Naruto. However, in all likelihood they're just another group of strong Gennin who will in no way be able to compete with the ability of Jounin level shinobi. In the end, Naruto's going to win, all of this is just a waste of time."

"You may wish to reevaluate your conclusions." Came Shino's stoic voice indicating the match at hand. Attention turned to the arena below, Shikamaru's eyes widened. In the center of the arena, one man stood above the other's prone form.

'_Impossible._'

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Wobbling slightly, Kamizuru Tessei looked down at his opponent. The boy had been surprisingly strong, probably close to Jounin level, it had been a rude awakening when he realized this fact. It had truly been an interesting match between two unique fighters.

-----Flashback-----

"_Begin" the examiner instructed._

_With blurred, lightning-fast movements, Sai had created a painting in an instant. Summoning the drawing off the page with a whispered "__**Choujuu Giga**__." he set them towards his opponent._

_Not wanting to waste time, Tessei immediately responded with, "__**Mushi Kabe no Jutsu**__." __a wall of his insects forming in front of him, forcing the summoned tigers to approach him from any direction other than the front. Sending some of his insects scuttling across the ground nearly invisible towards his opponent, Tessei turned his attention to the still approaching threat. The ink creations, however, never made it to him as they got within ten feet, the explosive notes Tessei had planted the moment he was out of his opponent's vision detonated obliterating the incoming beasts. _

_Despite the incoming warning from his hive, Tessei was unprepared for Sai to come bursting through his wall of insects. '_Fool, I can now end this at any time._' he thought as he saw his bees clinging to various parts of the boy's clothing and hair. The thought was fleeting, however, as Sai revealed the back end of his paintbrush to be concealing a dagger which he buried into his opponent's chest without a moment's hesitation._

_Sai's victory was short-lived as the doomed Gennin collapsed into a swarm of bees which immediately rushed towards him. However, the moment the first stinger pierced Sai's flesh, the boy exploded, ink coating the surrounding insects, impeding their movements and weighing them down. _

_From his hiding place, Tessei's eyes widened in understanding. '_**Sumi bunshin**_' he surmised, immediately sending his insects to sweep the arena and track down his elusive opponent. Biting his lip as pain suddenly engulfed him, Tessei looked down only to find a snake made of ink, fangs buried in his ankle. Instantly drawing a kunai and severing the summon's head, he watched in shock as the ink making up the head was absorbed into the puncture wounds. '_Shit! Poison?!_'_ _he thought, immediately feeling the effects. '_I can't lose now! Not until I kill _him.' Immediately pushing the kunai into his own leg, he began to drain the poison (as well as his own blood) before the effects overtook him. _

_Time slipping away, Tessei gave up on tracking his opponent. '_If he won't come out, I'll just have to force him out!_'_ _he reasoned, hands coming together to form a long line of hand seals. Reacting instantly to the instructions, his insects swarmed around him momentarily, grabbing small packages hidden within his pockets. As they rushed off in every direction, he completed his seals and yelled, "__**Chou Hachi Bakudan**__!" In an instant, the entire arena floor was engulfed in explosions, the bees themselves detonating like they did against Odori and the resulting explosions being amplified by the small packages of explosive notes they were carrying._

_As the smoke cleared, Sai's smoldering body was revealed. Rolling slightly, the boy managed to extinguish the flames, but other than that simply lay there, panting. Confirming with his nearby insects that it was indeed his opponent rather than another clone, Tessai approached the injured Konoha nin._

-----End Flashback-----

'_So he survived._' thought Tessai, somewhat woozy from the blood loss he was suffering from. '_That's something I'll just have to rectify immediately.'_ hands coming together, he colony began to swarm around his opponent prepared to deal the death blow. "Any last words?" he asked, low enough that the examiner wouldn't hear it.

Opening his cracked lips, Sai whispered "**Sumi Bakuha**." Instantly, Tessai and his colony were consumed in an explosion, several bees made of ink surrounding him being the culprits.

"You bastard!" came the enraged cry as the Iwa Gennin emerged from the smoke. His 'skin', a once golden-brown began cracking off revealing pale, unblemished skin underneath. '_Saved only by my __**Nenmitsu no Yoroi**__? Who is this kid?_' Hands coming together to end the persistent boy, Tessai suddenly found himself unable to move.

"Sai is unable to continue." Shikaku's voice carried clearly through the shocked stadium as eyes located the unconscious body of the Konoha participant. "The winner is Iwagakure's Kamizuru Tessei." after providing aforementioned Gennin a warning glare, Shikaku's shadow retracted as medical teams rushed out to work on the two injured participants.

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"Sai lost?" asked Ino aloud, her voice actually with an air of hope that Naruto would dispute her claim. Seeing his grim expression, Ino reconsidered her opinion of the Iwa shinobi. Despite Naruto's earlier warning to this affect, Ino had not truly considered the possibility that the Iwa team would be at their level. Hearing her name from below, she said aloud, "Looks like I'm up." before hopping onto the rail of the waiting area, planning to simply jump down to the arena below.

"Ino," Naruto's voice came from behind her. Turning back to look at him in question, she found him smiling warmly at her, "good luck."

Confidence returned by his simple show of support, Ino smiled back and nodded before leaping off the balcony into the arena.

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Meanwhile, in the Kage's box, Tsunade rounded on the Tsuchikage. With her knowledge of Sai's ability, his loss came as a huge shock making the already suspicious Iwa team all that much more suspicious. "Why is your team here? It's quite apparent that they are far beyond the level of Chuunin." she asked, diplomacy thrown to the wind.

Smirking behind his veil, the Tsuchikage turned his head to face her. "I could ask you much the same thing of that boy's team, Hokage-sama. However, my team is merely here to take their rightful place as Chuunin."

"But, why now? And why here? Even if your goal was to make Konoha look bad, your hatred of us would have prevented you from coming here."

"Do not trouble yourself Hokage-sama, my team is eligible for this exam and we mean you no harm. Iwa may have a troubled past with Konoha, but that hatred must end sometime." Seeing her still hardened gaze he added, "Let's just say an opportunity presented itself during this exam, one that I simply couldn't pass up." Apparently satisfied that he had said plenty, the Tsuchikage turned his attention back towards the match beginning below.

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"Begin!" instructed Shikaku.

Even had her confidence remained lowered by the demise of her teammate, Ino was convinced, she would win this fight. The Hyuuga were notoriously predictable for their almost complete devotion to their Jyuuken style of taijutsu at the exclusion of nin- and genjutsu. Hanabi had shown to use some basic techniques and weapons when the situation called for it, but against a seasoned shinobi like Ino, such rudimentary tricks were all but useless. Now, she just needed to decide whether she should keep the battle to mid-to-long range, or engage the younger girl in a taijutsu/kenjutsu battle and rely on her superior reach and mantra to keep her safe from the Jyuuken's crippling blows.

Her question, however, was answered for her as her opponent rushed at her, Byakugan flaring, chakra already gathering in her hands. If the Hyuuga girl wished to fight up close, it was best to throw her off her game plan, at least initially.

Through her Byakugan, Hanabi saw a pulse of chakra in her opponent. Recognizing a kawarimi, she twisted her head slightly, finding her opponent had replaced herself from a log behind her and had hidden within her blind spot. "**Hakke Kuushou**!" she called out, the invisible (to those without a doujutsu) wave of chakra bursting from her palm in the direction of her hidden opponent.

Unable to see the attack, Ino made no move to dodge, the chakra slamming into her and sending her crashing off the tree branch, only to disappear in a puff of smoke.

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'_Kage bunshin?!_' thought Sakura, the head of the medical team assisting the injured contestants, as the match continued. '_Then, all that time Ino was spending with Naruto, he was actually teaching her?! That would explain why Ino was too exhausted to move. Uh, I guess I owe Naruto an apology._'

As she watched, Sakura smiled. After Sasuke left, she and Ino had settled their differences and, though Ino took a stance far more similar to Naruto's on the subject of Sasuke, they had returned to simply being the best of friends. While her time under the tutelage of the Godaime had allowed Sakura to greatly improve, her time spent training in the non-combat applications of a medic nin limited her growth. Ino, on the other hand, had thrown herself completely into her training to the exclusion of most other normal activities. To that affect, Ino had completely surpassed her as a kunoichi which she was demonstrating in this fight.

Hyuuga in general were tricky opponents. Their doujutsu, which made them immune to genjutsu, along with their nigh unbeatable taijutsu form and 'ultimate' defense made it difficult for even an overwhelming opponent to defeat them quickly without serious risk to themselves. Ino, however, was simply trouncing Hanabi who was heralded as a genius of the clan nearly to the extent that Neji had been. Sure, at this point in the fight, neither fighter had sustained any damage, but Ino maintained her distance while using projectiles, minor jutsu, and kage bunshin to force the younger Gennin to continually expend her smaller chakra reserves using **Kaiten**.

'_Is she just going to wait until Hanabi-san runs out of chakra? Or will she look to end the match on her own terms?_' wondered Sakura. There was no way to know the answer to that other than to watch.

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Breathing heavily, Hanabi felt the sweat that was dousing her body. This girl was insanely good. She had expected a difficult, possibly stronger opponent from what she had witnessed of the girl up until now, not to mention that she had participated in the exam with her cousin all those years ago. However, the girl hadn't even drawn her blades yet and Hanabi had up to this point been unable to do go on the offensive. Any chance she attempted to use bunshin or projectiles to give herself an opening were immediately met as though her opponent knew exactly what she was planning (which in fact, she did). Hanabi cringed slightly as the blonde girl slowly drew her blades, '_I just had to jinx myself, didn't I._' she thought, understanding that the other girl would now be going for the win. Hands immediately moving to her supply pouch, Hanabi drew two kunai which she held in a backhand grip enabling her to still use her Jyuuken while defending herself from the blades, something she had trained in specifically for this fight. After all, the only way to safely defend against her opponent's blades should she get in close, was with a metal object of her own.

Blades held parallel to the ground, Ino rushed at the purple-haired girl, launching a series of quick stabbing motions. Seeing the approach, Hanabi gathered her chakra and began to spin hoping to blow the girl away with a **Kaiten**. However, she barely made a single rotation before her traction disappeared, the ground beneath her turning to mud, halting her rotation. Opponent practically on top of her, Hanabi was forced to use her trump card. "**Seikuuken!**" she practically screamed trying to get her footing, her chakra rushing into her arms.

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From the stands, Neji smirked as the jaws of those around him dropped.

"The hell was that?!" exclaimed Kiba as Ino was blasted backwards, struck by several crippling Jyuuken strikes. While surprising when that Ino, too, was revealed to be a clone as it disappeared, the question still held. they all knew Ino to be far faster than Hanabi, so regardless that it was a clone, it should not have been defeated so easily, without landing a single blow.

"**Seikuuken**," answered Neji, "newest addition to the Jyuuken martial arts. Back when I fought that sound nin all those years ago, I recognized some weaknesses within the Hyuuga's 'ultimate' defense. To that affect, I've spent the last three years creating this technique. Armed with her byakugan and Hanabi's level of insight, she can predict her opponent's movements based on minute shifts in their body. Using her chakra to augment her arm speed, she can block essentially anything regardless of the opponent's speed, as she's reacting essentially before the opponent initiate's the attack. It's virtually impossible to lay a finger on her within the field of her **Seikuuken**."

Eyes widening at the implication, the group of Gennin turned their attention back to the match, interest in the outcome now greatly increased.

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'_That's one hell of a defense._' thought Ino, evaluating her options. She had really expected that last exchange to end the battle. Hiding outside the range of the other girl's byakugan, Ino planned her next move. She didn't want to hurt the Hyuuga girl, but unless she wanted to let the battle continue to drag out, that just wasn't an option. Since she knew she would be fighting at least one, if not two powerful opponents after this, she needed to end it as soon as possible. Creating a handful of clones, Ino frowned as she began to feel the pull on her chakra. While she still had more than two-thirds of her overall chakra in comparison to her opponent who was likely down below twenty percent, she knew she'd need as much as possible for the fights to come. Instantly moving to their assigned positions, Ino lay in wait for the opportune moment.

Searching for her opponent, Hanabi began to get tense, the momentary pause could only mean that her opponent was planning something. Time to evaluate her situation further disappeared as several blondes had moved into her field of vision and began to rain kunai and shuriken down on her. Unable to move fast enough to avoid the entire cloud of weapons headed her way, Hanabi jumped into the air, rotating her body as she activated her **Kaiten**.

'_3…2…1…Now!_' thought Ino, rolling out from the tree she was behind, "**Gatotsu!**" the nearly invisible bullet of chakra burst from the tip of her now extended kodachi, rushing towards the sphere of chakra blocking her clones' weapons.

Having blocked all of the dangerous projectiles, Hanabi ended her spin, chakra no longer rushing from her tenketsu. No sooner did her defense disappear did her byakugan manage to spot the incoming attack. However, it was far too late, the chakra bullet had been _just_ outside her defense and was moving _far_ too quickly to be even partially dodged from this distance. With a scream of pain, the rookie Gennin's left arm fell limply to her side, the attack having pierced her shoulder, severing the impulses from her brain. While a crippling blow, it would have no lasting damage one the medics got to her.

Understanding that the attack had intentionally missed anything vital, Hanabi nodded in the direction of her now revealed opponent before turning her attention to Shikaku. "Examiner, I have lost this fight." she spoke aloud acknowledging her defeat.

"Winner: Konohagakure's Yamanaka Ino." he announced, allowing the medical team access to the injured girl as the crowd applauded both competitor's efforts.

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"A little excessive, don't you think?" asked Naruto as Ino made her way back into the observer's box.

Shrugging, Ino responded "Actually, no. Since I didn't want to kill her, other than the **Gatotsu** at the end, I didn't even use my kenjutsu techniques on her. So, I only had two options in that fight: defeat her completely or allow her to simply exhaust herself. I couldn't afford to simply wait for the latter since I know I'll need all the chakra and endurance I have for the rest of the tournament. And, her defense was simply too good for anything less to work for the former, that '**Seikuuken**' proved it-I had intended to end the fight there. What the hell was that anyways? I've never seen or heard of it before."

Unable to fault her logic, he didn't argue with her. "I have no idea, but it was certainly intriguing. Well, either way, congratulations-not that the outcome was ever in question."

"Thanks." She said genuinely, smiling back at him for a long moment before tuning their attention below as Shikaku announced the final match of the first round: Sakio Kairi vs. Jinketsu Tenjin. A match between two of the Iwa shinobi, one of which they had yet to see fight at all.

The next match, however, was not nearly as interesting as anyone had hoped. Visibly shaking as Shikaku called out her name, Kairi steeled her nerves for a second before glancing at her teammate next to her. The merciless stare he sent back her way made her decision for her. "Examiner, I forfeit." she called down to the shock of the crowd.

"Are you sure?" he asked, brain quickly processing possible implications. Seeing her nod, he had no choice but to announce Tenjin as the winner.

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With the first round complete, a thirty minute break ensued to allow the competitors time to regain their strength. As people trickled back to their seats, the first match of the second round was announced: "Uzumaki Naruto Tessei."

"Wish me luck." said Naruto with a grin.

"Good luck." said Ino to the empty space where Naruto had occupied a moment before.

Appearing in the middle of the arena, Naruto waited for his opponent to make his way down. Finally, maybe he would get some answers.

"Oh, how I was praying for this opportunity." came Tessei's voice as he exited the stairwell all of his previous injuries fully healed by the expert medics.

"Oh? And why's that?"

His next words shocked the crowd. "As if you don't know. Prepare yourself, your shinigami has arrived, _NAMIKAZE_!"

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. Naruto is in fact the son of the Yondaime, but other than this exam, that will probably play little role in the story as a whole. For those of you wondering, no one (Naruto included) will be learning Hiraishin although, at some point you'll be hearing my take on that technique. Next chapter will be the second round of the Chuunin exam finals and may begin the final round depending on whether I get a good stopping point before then or not. It is in the next chapter or two that the plot will begin to pick up so, keep a look out for them. Last chapter marked actually a couple of milestones for this story. Thank you to all of my loyal readers. Last chapter this story reached both 50,000+ hits as well as 100+ reviews. As a reward, here's the longest chapter yet, over 5000 words. As always, read and review.

Jutsu Library:

**Choujuu Giga****-**Super Beast Imitation Drawing

**Mushi Kabe no Jutsu****-** Insect Wall Technique

**Sumi bunshin****-**Ink Clone

**Chou Hachi Bakudan****-** Super Bee Bomb

**Sumi Bakuha****-**Ink Explotion

**Nenmitsu no Yoroi****-** Armor of Sticky Honey

**Hakke Kuushou****-**Eight Divination Signs Air Palm

**Kaiten****-** Heavenly Spin

**Seikuuken****-** Control of the air sphere

**Gatotsu****-** Attack much like that used by Saito Hajime in Rurouni Kenshin. Fires a projectile of chakra from the top of the thrust.

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	23. Chapter 22: Chuunin Exam Finals: Round 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 22**

The name Namikaze was one known universally throughout the elemental nations. The last person to hold the title was none other than Namikaze Minato, fourth Hokage of Konohagakure. Minato's brilliance had shocked the world, his mere presence lending strength to his allies and crushing despair to his enemies. Without question, it was thanks to his efforts that Konoha and their allies emerged victorious in the Third Great Shinobi War.

Everyone knew the story of the boy from an, until then, unknown clan who rose from just another Gennin to arguably the single greatest shinobi of all time. Unfortunately, his genius didn't extend to the rest of the small clan (many of whom were simple civilians) and they were wiped out in the conflict, the combined forces of Iwagakure and Kumogakure, unable to defeat the man himself, hunted down every last one of those closest to him. It was for this reason that his eventual marriage to whirlpool's Uzumaki Kushina was kept completely under wraps, only known to the select few he trusted implicitly.

The initial moment of shock worn off, whispered conversations instantly began to fire through the crowd following the Gennin's words.

"Naruto related to the Yondaime?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. This guy's lost his marbles." exclaimed Kiba loudly, laughing at the though.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you." replied Shikamaru, still staring at the sky.

"What did you say?!" Kiba retorted almost immediately.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered to himself though all the Gennin around him heard him clearly, "Come on, you're honestly going to tell me that you don't see the slightest bit of a resemblance between the two?" he continued, waving a hand in the direction of the Hokage monument. Looking between the stone statue and their friend below, none of the Gennin could really question that. With Naruto's hair grown out, he was practically a splitting image if you discount the whisker marks.

"Ano…" interceded Hinata shyly but no longer stuttering as she had in the past, "But, why would they conceal something like that? If nothing else, people may not have seen him as just the Kyuubi."

"Probably because of something like this." Neji answered, comprehension dawning. "Until now, Naruto could not possibly have dealt with this kind of attention. Clearly the Iwa team is strong and here with a vendetta against him. Had such a situation occurred back when we first became Gennin, Naruto would have been killed for sure."

"YOSH! It's true! Naruto's flames of youth are now burning brightly!" added Lee.

"But then, why would the information come out now? And, how did it reach Iwa's ears before our own?" Chouji questioned.

"Now _that_ is the question, isn't it…" Shikamaru pondered aloud.

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Turning to her fellow Kage who, despite his face being covered, clearly was conveying his smirk, Tsunade tried to bore a hole into his skull with her eyes. '_He knew! He knew the whole time. _That_ is why his team is here, he's using this exam as an opportunity to kill the son of his most hated enemy at a time that we _cannot_ interfere or make a scene about it._'

Looking around at the crowd which was slowly quieting down, their interest now peeked about the matches to come, Tsunade's anger curbed somewhat. '_This will actually work to our favor. From what Jiraiya tells me, Naruto should have no problem handling these Gennin and, thanks to the revelation of being a Namikaze by a non-Konoha nin at that, our business will soar when the foreign diplomats see what he can do._' she thought smiling slightly. 'Just, b_e safe, Naruto._'

Seeing that the moment of shock and speculation had passed, Tsunade decided to simply deal with the fall out of the revelation after the exams. Nodding down to Shikaku, the fighting began anew.

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Not a second after the proctor had announced the fight to begin, the fighting began in earnest. Throwing the rules to the wind, Tessei had taken the delay to move a few of his bugs as subtly as possible next to or on his opponent. And, the moment he was given the green light, his hands came together. "**Hachi Bakudan**." he called out as Naruto was consumed by the explosion. "All too easy." he said aloud with a smirk.

His face once again became serious as the smoke cleared to reveal that Naruto, injured or otherwise, was nowhere to be found. Instantly recognizing the escape, Tessai's bugs spread in every direction in search of the elusive blonde.

From his hiding place, Naruto cast a jutsu very handy when dealing with this type of opponent (of for that matter any time one is outnumbered and required eyes in the back of their head. "**Kekkai: Tengai Houjin**." Around Naruto, a dome of static electricity extended for fifty feet in any direction. While containing no offensive purposes, since the barrier was fed by his chakra, Naruto was able to sense any disruption to the static-anything entering or moving through his field. The jutsu itself required little chakra, though it caused a slow but constant drainto keep it active.

With the knowledge that clones wouldn't fool the bugs, but would allow him to attack from afar, Naruto summoned an army of clones, both solid and mere illusions and sent them towards his opponent. One thing that a clone could not reproduce about a person is their scent. While this is not an issue against most opponents, against shinobi who use bugs or summons, or clans like the Inuzuka clan, his real position could easily be determined-hence the need for the barrier.

From the wooded area, hundreds of Naruto clones burst from the brush charging towards Tessai. His bugs immediately stopped their searching, many of them rushing in the direction that the clones had come from seeking out the actual opponent. '**Doton: Dochuu Eigyo.**' thought Tessei, sinking into the ground while his bugs formed a cloud around him, protecting him from any long range attacks the clones may throw as well as hiding his escape. Once he was fully concealed within the earth, his bugs coalesced from the inside out, forming a **Hachi Bunshin **to meet the incoming assault. Underground he was far safer from attacks and was able to use his bugs to scout for him, their information passing to him through their collective mind.

What few people know about the Kamizuru clan is their 'hive' of insects is relatively small, particularly compared to those of the Aburame. Instead, they rely on a modified kage bunshin known only to their clan which, of course, creates solid clones able to do actual damage. Unlike the kage bunshin no jutsu that Naruto uses, creating clones of bees or wasps, due to their size and complexity, requires infinitesimally less chakra (one can summon hundreds of thousands of insects for the chakra cost of a single human clone) and, much like it's sister skills, kage kunai/shuriken, doesn't come with the dangers of serious mental strain. Additionally, insects are by nature rather resilient which means that the cloned bugs won't disappear easily with physical damage. The true insects live almost exclusively within the host's body which means, when any cloned wasp or bee expires, the information is transferred to the one living in the host which can then provide that information almost immediately.

As clones met insects, explosions rang out, blanketing the arena floor with smoke from thousands of detonations and destruction of shadow clones. Not to be out done, Naruto's clones began forming all manner of jutsu eliminating bugs all around them. The targets too small and numerous to be targeted otherwise, the clones were forced to expend chakra to keep themselves safe. Fortunately, of course, they had a deep reservoir in which to tap. As Naruto's clones battled their way towards his 'opponent,' one of them let fly a **Shinkuujin** which sliced effortlessly though him, revealing the deception.

While the clones and bugs continued to battle it out, each of the participants was looking for their true opponent. Unfortunately for Naruto, he was discovered first.

As he processed the information coming back from his clones, he felt the air around him begin to cool. '_Shit!_' he thought, finding a gigantic mass of insects hovering behind and above him, just outside the range of his barrier, blocking out the sun. '_I put too much faith in my barrier._' Recognizing his mistake, Naruto made to escape, just as the insects fully surrounded him. "**Mushi Dama**." Naruto heard Tessai say smugly from well outside the sphere having revealed himself to see the look on his opponent's face. "Now die! **Kage Shapiri no Jutsu**!" As the words left his opponent's mouth, the surrounding insects launched wave after wave of envenomed stingers at Naruto.

With nowhere to dodge to Naruto instantly channeled his chakra, forcing the winds around him to spin violently with cross-breezes, blowing the tiny projectiles away. Safe for the moment, Naruto saw the insects quickly condensing the sphere, moving in for the kill. Foregoing his barrier, Naruto flipped through several hand seals as quickly as he could, activating **Raigeki no Yoroi**. "**Soru**." he whispered, rushing the approaching insects at blinding speeds.

Not expecting such a maneuver, Tessai was shocked as Naruto burst forth from his insect sphere, the bees and wasps that came in contact with him instantly vaporizing from the lightning surrounding his entire body. '_Too slow_.' he thought, grinning as he finished his hand seals. "**Dai Hachi Bakudan**."

The explosion created by the detonation of millions of insects deafened the crowd, their ears ringing from concussion of force that washed over them. Before the smoke could even clear, from atop the nearby lake, Naruto stood wet, and without his flak jacket, but completely unharmed, flashing through a long string of hand seals. "**Suiton: Suiryuudan**!" he called out, the water twisting and moving beneath him as though alive before it exploded upwards, quickly taking the visage of a dragon which crashed down towards the shocked Iwa Gennin.

'_Impossible?! How could have survived that blast?'_ thought Tessei as he brought his hands together in defense. "**Doton: Doro Gaeshi**." he called, a 12x10 rectangle of earth, in front of him popped upwards between him and the oncoming water dragon. As attack met defense, the wall held, water splashing around and over, but not _through_ the wall. Though Tessai wasn't crushed by thousands of pounds of water pressure, the gallons of water that poured overtop his defense drenched him, and his bugs from head to toe. No sooner had the torrent ceased was Tessei forced to drop to the ground, a Naruto passing over his head, kunai in hand. Jumping forward as another struck where he was a moment before, Tessai turned to facing his attacker, putting his back to the wall.

Bugs still unable to move well due to the water weight, Tessai was ill-prepared for Naruto's next move. While his clones drove the Iwa Gennin into position, Naruto shoved a **Rasengan** into the wall, the swirling jutsu quickly ground through the earth until only a thin layer remained. Charging both wind and lightning chakra to the middle and index finger of his other hand, Naruto allowed the **Rasengan **to dissipate. When a clone alerted him that his opponent was in place, Naruto drove his fingers through the thin area of the wall, the fingers digging through Tessai's **Nenmitsu no Yoroi **like a hot knife through butter. As the attack effortlessly pierced his opponent's skin with a whispered, "**Shigan: Ouren**" Tessai's water-soaked body never stood a chance. Electricity tore through him, inside and out as an anguished scream forced its way from his mouth.

The electrical current, amplified by the water incinerated the bugs living within Tessai's body. With the originals dead and the host losing consciousness, his cloned bugs vanished as Tessai collapsed bonelessly to the ground, steam issuing forth from his body and mouth.

Before Shikaku even managed to announce Naruto as the winner, the medical team was already rushing out across the arena floor hoping to save the critically wounded Gennin.

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From the Kage's box, Tsunade looked down as Naruto exited the arena towards the stairs, a slight frown on her face. Though she was certainly pleased to see Naruto make it safely out of the fight, the way won was surprisingly violent for the normally cheery blonde. Glancing to her side, she was able to see the edges of the Tsuchikage's eyes which were shaking in rage, the man looked positively murderous.

Down on the field, the medics were working furiously, the extent of Tessai's injuries too dire for them to risk moving him before treatment. Naruto's attack had entered the right side of Tessai's back, where no major organs existed, however, being that the human body is over 98 percent water, the electricity had conducted through his entire body, both inside and out scorching him with third degree burns. The electrical impulse caused every muscle in his body to contract simultaneously causing some to tear due to their conflicting motions (ex: bicep vs. triceps). Finally, the electrical chakra had cauterized the wound around the entry point making medical techniques almost useless in staunching the flow of blood from the small puncture.

Tsuanade sighed as she surveyed the damage she could see or infer of the Iwa Gennin. '_If they didn't have a reason to hate you before, you've certainly given them one now._' she thought, settling in for the delay. '_Oh well, time to be political_.' "That was certainly a hard fought match." she began, addressing the Tsuchikage, "You should certainly be proud of your student to push _Uzumaki_-san that far." stressing Naruto's surname hoping that the Tsuchikage was just grasping at straws and wasn't certain of Naruto's heritage. "I do certainly hope he will make a full recovery. And, do not worry, he'll be receiving the very best medical care we can offer."

If the Tsuchikage heard her words he made no immediate attempt to show it, his anger remaining palpable in the surrounding area. Hands clenched around his armrest, the wood beneath his hands began to crack. Tsunade raised an eyebrow slightly as she saw the man's eyes flick away from his injured student, his anger seeming to dissipate almost instantly as his shoulders and hands relaxed and a smirk which reached his eyes replaced his previous look. Following his previous line of sight, she found that he was looking to his final student who appeared unperturbed, a maniacal glint in his eyes.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. I have no doubt that your medical team will take the upmost care of him. Your Gennin has proven to be quite the shinobi, Iwa will look even better once Tenjin wipes the floor with him." confidence clearly brimming from his voice.

Tsunade frowned at the man's words, after seeing Naruto crush a clearly powerful and experienced opponent, how could he possibly have _that_ much confidence. "Perhaps you're counting your chickens before they hatch. Your man still needs to get through this round, and Yamanaka-san has proven herself to be quite capable in this exam."

"Ha! A little girl playing with swords is a thousand years too early to fight Tenjin. You should tell her to run home and press some flowers, leave the fighting to the men-she'll only get hurt otherwise."

Massaging her temples, Tsunade thought, '_Oh great, he's sexist._' clearly noticing the not-too-subtle dig at herself as well. She was half tempted to go down to the arena herself just to get the matches to continue faster, it was going to be a long break…

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In his private box, Danzou sat quite impressed by the Namikaze's performance. He, of course, was well aware of the boy's heritage, having passed said information along to Orochimaru. '_Looks like the snake's been busy…_' he thought, actually impressed. With the information he had and reading underneath the underneath, the Sannin's machinations, though perhaps not his reasons, became clear.

Silently, a clocked and masked figure appeared at his side. Turning to what the attire demonstrated to be one of his ROOT ANBU, Danzou turned his head slightly and asked, "You have something to report?"

"Orochimaru-sama sends his regards, your information has proven most useful. Events are already in motion." came Kabuto's silky reply.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered attempting to keep a low key now that the visitor was identified. "Surely you're not just here to provide me with information I can glean for myself."

"Of course not, let's just say I have my reasons. Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon enough, but the view is better from here." he grinned, disappearing into the shadows.

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"Don't you think that was a little excessive?" came Ino's playful voice as Naruto entered the waiting area.

"Very funny." he replied, the irony of having his words thrown back at him not lost on him. "He's alive, isn't he. Considering how hard he was trying to kill me, I'd say I may have held back too much."

Chuckling slightly at the dark humor Ino asked, "How did you win that anyways? I thought for sure he had you."

"Naw, I was never in any actual danger. The guy was good, but I've fought bug users before. After escaping from the first attack, I hid underwater and simply had clones of mine fighting him."

"Underwater? Why'd you do that? For that matter, _how'd_ you do that? The match was like 15 minutes long."

"One thing that shadow clones can't do is recreate one's scent. So, by giving a clone my jacket and hiding underwater, the bugs were only able to smell my clone, thinking it was me. So, yeah, he certainly 'killed' my clone with that one attack, but I wasn't anywhere near there. Since he thought it was me, he got careless which gave me the opening I needed."

"And that attack?" asked Ino, a predatory glint in her eyes.

"Can't teach you that one. **Shigan **requires some of my…unique talents." he laughed, correctly guessing the reason for her interest. As she pouted, his face turned serious. "Ino, be very careful with your opponent. We know the team is strong and we haven't seen this guy fight at all." He whispered, gesturing to the final Iwa Gennin.

Noting his seriousness, Ino nodded having already been thinking the same thing.

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Finally, the medical staff managed to stabilize Tessai to a level at which he would be safe to move. Once the field was clear of the medics and their charge, Shikaku announced the final match of the second round, indicating for Tenjin and Ino to proceed to the arena floor.

After a 'good luck' from Naruto, Ino shunshinned down to the arena floor. Not a second later, Tessai appeared in front of her, merging silently from the ground. Only now did she notice how absurdly tall the man was, he towered over her, nearing 7 feet in height.

Seeing both contestants ready, Shikaku announced the start of the match.

No sooner had the words left his mouth did Tenjin blur into motion. '_Fast!_' thought Ino, the attack coming too fast for her to dodge normally. Performing a quick kawarimi, Ino's eyes widened as the log she had replaced herself with exploded into splinters. Without even turning, Tenjin took a deep breath and extended his hand in her direction. The trunk of her tree snapped like a twig as a miniature earth dragon bit effortlessly through it disappearing into the ground on the other side. Falling, Ino drew her swords and, landing cried out "**Nana-Jyuu Pound Hou**!" firing a blade of wind towards her rapidly charging opponent.

The approaching giant didn't even dodge, the blade slicing him cleanly in half. However, rather than blood blanketing the surrounding arena, the torso slammed heavily into the ground revealing to be solid rock. '_Shit! __**Tsuchi Bunshin**__._' Ino realized too late as Tenjin materialized from the ground in front of her, punch already moving towards her lower ribs. The 11th and 12th ribs, also known as floating ribs, unlike the other 10 pairs have no connections to the front of the body and are easy to break. Breaking these ribs, while not life threatening causes such intense pain that it continuing to fight is difficult. It was this effect that Tenjin was looking for. However, thanks to her bloodline giving her _just_ enough time to react, managed to twist her body slightly and moving her momentum backwards to avoid the crippling blow. Even so, Tenjin's fist buried itself into her solar plexus, driving the air from her lungs, the strength lifting her completely off of her feet.

Despite the lack of oxygen, Ino's reflexes took over and she rolled quickly to her feet, lungs struggling to draw breath. Catching her opponent's thoughts as she was rolling, Ino immediately jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a thick pillar of earth that erupted directly at her quickly taking the shape of a fist aiming for her abdomen again. Gaining a moment's respite, Ino quickly gulped down air and prepared to go on the offensive. Jumping backwards to put some room between them, now knowing about her opponent's insane speed, Ino created a handful of shadow clones which she directed to attack using their kenjutsu.

None of the clones even got within striking range. As they approached, Tenjin causally flashed through a surprisingly short series of hand seals before calling out, "**Katon: Karyuu Endan**." blowing a stream of fire from his mouth. The clones scattered to avoid the attacked before resuming their assault from all sides. However, the blast of fire rapidly formed the visage of a dragon and proceeded to coil around Tenjin almost protectively, wiping out the clones and singing the ground around him.

While she had hoped that the clones would have been a bit more useful, Ino had mainly created them as a distraction. While he was preoccupied, however slightly, by the clone assault, she took aim and fired a **Gatotsu** aimed directly for the center of her opponent's chest. She smirked in triumph as the attack bypassed her opponent's guard and hit home. It was, however, short lived as rather than producing a rather spectacular hole in his chest, the attack did nothing more than to draw Tenjin's attention to her.

Though confused by her attack's lack of effect, Ino had no time to ponder the turn of events for he stretched his hand in her direction, lightning gathering in his palm before racing for her in a dozen thin bolts. Replacing herself with another log which promptly caught fire as the lightning struck it, Ino sensed her opponent's approach and began to spin, wind chakra exiting her blades which she held in a back hand grip. "**Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren.**" she said, using her deadly defense.

Despite the deadly blades of wind slashing at him, Tenjin pressed his assault. As he entered the range of the swipes, his already blinding movements sped up as he dodged the first pass. His hands covered in stone to give himself a buffer from the small extensions of wind, Tenjin reached out and grabbed the backs of Ino's kodachis halting her spin and throwing her off balance. Before she could recover her footing, Tenjin continued he momentum and brought his foot down on her back in a crushing blow that caused her knees to buckle and give out sending her crashing into the ground, her blades remaining in her opponent's hands. Hands instinctively moving to cover her abdomen, Ino was slightly too late as her opponent's foot lashed out sending her skidding 50 yards across the hard earth.

Battered, scraped, and bruised, Ino was not yet beaten. Concealing it, Ino glanced up slightly to see her opponent toss her blades behind him without care. Though Ino had not yet stood or moved, Shikaku did not call the match, his keen eye and years of experience seeing her ruse clearly.

Coming to the same conclusion, Tenjin didn't approach the fallen girl, instead formed a few hand seals and said, "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**." launching a gigantic fireball at his opponent's prone form. Not having a choice, Ino made her move. Rolling to her feet, she called her chakra to her right foot and, used **Soru **to move in an instant to her discarded kodachi. Not even bending to pick up her weapon, she used her right foot to flick it into her hand with practiced ease while she, ignoring the strain on her body, focused chakra to her left foot and changed direction to recover her other blade in much the same manner.

Looking to the space she now occupied, Tenjin's eyes hardened slightly, the only indication of his surprise or interest.

From up in the balcony, Ino heard Naruto cheer her on as she made use of his technique. '_Just watch this._' she thought, preparing to unveil the technique that she created with Yuugao's help. Crossing her arms and blades, Ino pushed her chakra through her leg one more time. "**Oni…**" she said activating **Soru **and rushing at her opponent, "**Giri**!" she finished as she passed her opponent, blades moving in a cross slash.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, without warning, blood exploded from Tenjin's chest, the armor tearing apart in thin lines from the site of the slashes, his body toppling backwards landing supine on the ground.

For one brief moment, Ino thought she had won. Even if she hadn't, she couldn't press the assault at the immediately, her legs protesting her every move, the strain of having changed directions at such fast speeds catching up with her.

In an instant, Tenjin was back on his feet, blood miraculously no longer flowing freely from the wound. His eyes and body language no longer conveyed the apathetic approach he had taken up until then in the fight. As he turned to face her, Ino could only barely contained madness and bloodlust in his eyes. Dropping into a strange stance, Tenjin vanished from Ino's sight.

'_Too fast!_' thought Ino, trying desperately to dodge out of the way with **Soru**. Unfortunately, however, the earth dragon that Tenjin had created at the beginning of the fight chose that moment to reveal itself, grabbing Ino's leg and holding her in place, the teeth biting down cleanly through the skin putting pressure on the bone. Sadly, that was the least of her worries as Tenjin appeared directly in front of her.

"**Rogafuufuuken**!" he shouted as he rained down crushing blows on her from all sides. Ino raised her hands in an attempt to block, but the man was just too fast, and strong. Bruises formed and bones shattered as the blonde was tossed around like a rag doll. After a full minute of relentless assault, the attack stopped, Ino collapsing to the ground in a barely conscious heap.

"Winner, Jin…" began Shikaku, but was forced to intervene as his voice did nothing to stop Tenjin's attacks.

Gathering chakra in his hand, the Iwa Gennin prepared to finish the upstart blonde who dared to injure him. No sooner did his fist begin its forward momentum did his entire body freeze-Shikaku's shadow holding him in place. Growling at the nuisance, Tenjin gathered his chakra and threw off the effect, bringing his chakra-enhanced fist down on the unmoving girl.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I've been extremely busy. In general, I wouldn't expect updates more than once a week anymore, if that. Writing takes just far too much time in my busy schedule. That being said, I'm still really excited about this story, so I'll be writing whenever possible. Next chapter is the one I've been waiting for for a long time, so I'll probably have that written pretty soon, so look for it. Hope you enjoyed the fights in this chapter. **Preview**: Ino's fate, the final round, Tenjin's true strength, and Kabuto's mission. As always, R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Hachi Bakudan****-**Bee Bomb

**Kekkai: Tengai Houjin**-Barrier: Dome Method Formation

**Doton: Dochuu Eigyo**-Earth Element: Underground Fish Projection

**Hachi Bunshin**-Bee Clone

**Shinkuujin**-Vacuum Blade (Rokushiki: Using his control over wind, Naruto parts the air, creating a vacuum with a razor sharp edge also capable of dousing flames by drawing away the oxygen they require.)

**Mushi Dama**-Insect Sphere

**Kage Shapiri no Jutsu**-Shadow Duplication Sting Technique

**Raigeki no Yoroi**-Lightning Strike Armor

**Soru**-**Soru-**Shave (Rokushiki: Taijutsu technique allowing user to move at rapid speeds by stomping the ground 10 times in an instant, concentrating chakra into the ground until it explodes to propel the person forward)

**Dai Hachi Bakudan**-Great Bee Bomb

**Suiton: Suiryuudan**-Water Element: Water Dragon Projectile

**Doton: Doro Gaeshi**-Earth Element: Mud Overturn

**Rasengan**-Spiral Sphere

**Nenmitsu no Yoroi**-Armor of Sticky Honey

**Shigan: Ouren**-Finger Gun: Yellow Lotus (Rokushiki: Channeling wind and lightning chakra to the fingertips of his index and middle fingers, Naruto is able to effortlessly pierce nearly anything much like a bullet, inflicting small punctures in the target and then electrocuting them from within. This technique requires very high levels of concentration, far beyond that of normal Shigan and time to set up.)

**Shigan**-Finger Gun (Rokushiki: Channeling wind chakra to the fingertips of his index and middle fingers, Naruto is able to effortlessly pierce nearly anything much like a bullet, inflicting small punctures in the target.)

**Nana-Jyuu Pound Hou**: 72 Pound Cannon

**Tsuchi Bunshin**-Earth Clone

**Katon: Karyuu Endan**-Fire Element: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile

**Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren**- Spinning-Heavenly Sword-Dance Six-Series or The Dance Of The Wheeling Sword Six Successions

**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu****-**Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique

**Oni Giri****-**Demon Slash

**Rogafuufuuken****-**Wolf Fang Fist


	24. Chapter 23: Chuunin Exam Finals: 9 vs 5

A/N: Thanks to Leafy for her beta work. Without further ado, here's chapter 23:

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 23**

Unable to even force her body to flinch away from the incoming blow, Ino simply closed her eyes, embracing her fate. The moment felt like an eternity as Ino waited for her life to end listening to the cries of the crowd. However, the blow never came, only a sudden warmth surrounding her. Opening her eyes slowly, she took in the scene around her. Tenjin's fist was less than six inches from her face, but its forwards momentum had ceased. Eyes tracing up forward, she found a hand clutching the wrist in a vice-like grip. Following the arm back to its origin, she gasped.

Standing protectively over her was none other than Naruto, eyes as cold as ice, flickering between blue and purple, pupils elongating slightly, chakra pouring off of him in waves heating the air around her. "The match is over." he said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Though many people had seen Tenjin break from Shikaku's hold and aim for a finishing blow, none, save Naruto, had moved to save her. Whether they couldn't do anything in time or simply didn't care if she lived or died was irrelevant. She knew without question that Naruto had just saved her life, moving at impossible speeds to come to her aid. In an instant, her already high opinion of her friend and teacher skyrocketed. However, adrenaline wearing off now that the fight, and near-death incident had passed, the pain from her injuries rushed back in a torrent. Biting back a scream, she succumbed to unconsciousness.

Golden eyes blazing with hatred, Tenjin noticed the presence of several ANBU who had appeared in the arena, far too late to help the bitch who had injured him, but prepared to arrest him for his actions had the insufferable Namikaze not intervened. Wrenching his arm free of the impossibly powerful grip, he turned his back on the duo and walked a short distance away trying to reign in his killing intent. In truth, he recognized the fact that the other boy had stayed his hand was a blessing; he couldn't stop now, not before he took revenge on the boy that was to be his next opponent.

Even as the medical team came out, Naruto's eyes remained locked on to the Iwa giant. He stiffened slightly as he felt arms wrap around him, but relaxed as he heard Sakura's quiet voice. "Thank you." she said and he could tell she genuinely meant it. Seeing her closest friend that close to death had visibly shaken the pink-haired medic.

"Of course," he whispered quietly to her with resolve, "I will always protect those close to me."

Wondering whether she still qualified as such a person in Naruto's life, Sakura tightened her hold momentarily for reassurance before releasing him. Steeling her resolve, she turned to the other medics demanding a report. Double checking the diagnosis, she confirmed the laundry list of injuries as well as agreeing that her long-time friend was in no immediate danger and would be safe to move.

Gently and carefully lifting the broken girl onto a stretcher, the medical team carted Ino out of the arena. Despite the fact that she was arguably the best medic (apart from her mentor) in Konoha, Sakura knew she was too close to this particular case and excused herself, deferring treatment to doctors not as emotionally involved. Instead, Sakura moved to relieve a medic or two who had been working on Tessei ever since his fight had ended, hoping to keep herself busy enough that her mind would stop picturing her friend's broken body.

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Up in the Kage's box, Tsunade had to actively repress her desire to go and oversee the Gennin's treatment herself. Despite the serious injuries, she knew that she needed to keep up appearances, much like the Tsuchikage had done after the previous match where Tessai had ended up terribly wounded (although, perhaps that was just because he didn't care). Beyond that, she had great faith in her staff. She had used the three years since she had become Hokage to revolutionize Konoha's medical corps. She now had a large, experienced staff capable of healing all but the most extreme cases (like the procedure that Lee required when she first returned) where she, herself, would step in.

Tsunade, of course, had seen the situation developing, but as the leader of the village, she could not directly interfere. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't sure from her position she could have reached her subordinate in time to help, the Kage's box was at the very top of the stadium. So, she was thankful to the hyperactive blonde for saving what she considered to be a highly promising shinobi as well as preventing what could have been a political disaster.

"You're student is certainly lucky." she said aloud to the Tsuchikage. "Assassinating a Konoha shinobi on Konoha soil in broad daylight in front of a crowd of people would not have looked good for Iwagakure."

Not showing even a hint of apology for his student's actions, the Tsuchikage merely chuckled. "Assassination? You have quite the imagination. Tenjin was merely finishing the fight as he's been taught to do. Had anything happened, it would have been the fault of your proctor for failing to do his job and properly prevent needless death."

Clenching her fists as the subtle dig and arrogance, Tsunade smirked and added, "Well, as much as I'm sure you'd love to see your student go head-to-head against Naruto, I think everyone has seen enough battle for one day, those prepared for promotion are clear, this match is meaningless. I'll inform the crowd that the final round would be superfluous and will as such be cancelled."

"Please." laughed the Tsuchikage. "Everyone here wants to see who is stronger, the best Konoha has to offer or the best Iwa has to offer. This match must happen; it is the entire reason for these exams after all. However, should you decide to do something stupid, my countrymen are here for more than just watching the Namikaze die. Allowing hundreds of dignitaries to die on your watch would have catastrophic effects for Konoha. The choice is yours Hokaga-_sama_: allow the fight to happen or deal with the consequences."

Reading between the lines, Tsunade scowled. Though he didn't say anything that could be directly considered such, the man had essentially threatened the lives of everyone present should she cancel the final round. '_This man is too dangerous._' she thought, having no doubts that he would follow through on his threat. Unable to chance such a situation coming to pass, Tsunade silently signaled Jiraiya and Yamato to be prepared should things get out of hand.

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Back in the arena, Naruto had yet to move from where he had appeared to save Ino. Tenjin, however, had sat down several yards away, reigning back his more primal tendencies to prepare for the fight ahead of him. He has waited a long time for this, it was high time that justice be served.

Hearing Shikaku announce that the final round would be beginning momentarily as both contestants were already in the arena and apparently ready to go, Tenjin stood and faced the boy he was prepared to destroy.

"You know," he said aloud, addressing Naruto calmly but passionately, "when Tessei failed to kill you, at first I was angry. Now, however, I'm thrilled that you managed to defeat him."

Chakra no longer swirling visibly around him, Naruto appeared no less hostile to the man in front of him. "And why's that?" he practically spit out.

"Why, naturally, now I get to kill you. It's poetic justice really, your father killed my father, now I get to return the favor."

"I don't care about your reasons for hating me," said Naruto without emotion. "Nothing gave you the right to try to kill someone I care about. I'll destroy you."

"The last Namikaze…I look forward to breaking that spirit."

And, with this last verbal exchange, Shikaku announced the beginning of the fight and both contestants blurred into motion.

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Though Naruto brushed off Tenjin's comments, focusing more on the fight to come than his taunting words, throughout the stadium, those old enough to remember the war and had high level security access, quickly processed the information coming to the same, terrible conclusion. '_The Yondaime only killed one person with the name Jinketsu. If he's the son of the Sandaime Tsuchikage then that means…oh god._' Was the general theme of their thoughts.

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For a shinobi of his level, following behind the slow moving group while hiding his presence was a ridiculously easy chore. About halfway to their destination, the group had picked up an ANBU guard tasked with protecting their cargo at any cost. Even the highly trained shinobi escort failed to sense his presence as he followed until all but the ANBU entered a doorway.

Silently drawing a kunai, a flick of the wrist had it imbedded in the throat of the stoic but inattentive ANBU. Vocal chords and jugular destroyed, the man died without even a whisper-even his collapse silent thanks to his killer catching his fall and setting him gently on the ground. With no one alerted to his presence, the man pilfered the now dead ANBU's mask, securing it in place and quietly opening the door.

Inside, he immediately found the gaze of a half-dozen doctors and medic nins who had turned at the sound of his entry.

"Is something the matter Hawk-san?" one of them, apparently the leader, asked referencing the animal depicted on the front of his mask.

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with." came the authoritative reply. "Return to your work. Due to the continued attack on this person, I will be providing support from in here so as to protect both you and the subject from attack even from the window."

Accepting the ANBU's words, the team turned back to their work, not really expecting any attack. Sure, the exam had been heated, but this was the medical bay. No sooner had the team of medical specialists turned back to their patients did the disguised assassin make his move. Blue chakra forming around his hands, the man used his **Chakra no Mesu **to quickly sever the spinal cords at the base of the neck of the two closest to him. As the dropped bonelessly to the ground, the other four turned quickly, alarmed to the source of the attack. Alas, any attempt to counterattack was negated as the man's hands blurred as he slashed the throats of the remaining four. While the chakra scalpels didn't break the skin, they easily severed the jugular veins of his victims, drowning them as their own blood rushed down their throats.

The nuisances taken care of, he removed his mask and turned his attention to the unconscious girl laying in the bed. Being second to only Tsunade in medical ninjutsu and knowledge, he quickly repaired the remainder of the interior bleeding, forced a blood replenishing pill down her throat, and at least excised any bones capable of injuring her interior organs. Though she still would be unable to move her arms or legs, thanks to the compound fractures throughout each limb, that was not his concern. She was stable and safe to move, even long distances, with no danger of death.

Raising his sleeve to reveal an intricate tattoo, Kabuto split his finger with a nearby scalpel and quickly summoned a small snake. Not even bothering to address the summon, the expert shinobi formed a few hand seals and whispered "**Hebigakure no Jutsu**." using a jutsu adapted from his mentor's old teammate, causing the snake's jaw to open impossibly wide, wide enough for him to walk into the creature's waiting mouth. Quickly injecting the still unconscious blonde with a drug to keep her under, Kabuto picked her up and did just that. A moment later, the snake slithered out the window and disappeared into the woods.

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The two combatants clashed in a furious taijutsu battle. Clones popping into existence from all directions, Naruto was a maelstrom of attacks, driving his opponent back. To his credit, Tenjin was obliterating clones left and right while simultaneously defending against Naruto's coordinated assault. Neither was pulling their punches in the slightest, fists coming together with such force that the recoil was shattering the ground below them.

Striking out with a vicious palm thrust, Naruto finally bypassed his opponent's guard. Calling out "**Impact**!" Naruto attempted to manipulate the air to deliver one of his most powerful taijutsu techniques. Though the force generated by the strike sent his opponent skidding back several feet, Naruto frowned slightly as he felt the chakra he was manipulating fail to take form. Though confused, Naruto continued with his attack. "**Rankyaku: Renge**!" he called, kicking his leg. Unlike his normal **Rankyaku**, the attack was initially far larger than normal. However, midway down its path, it split into hundreds of smaller scythes of chakra rushing towards his still skidding opponent.

Unlike **Shinkuujin**, **Rankyaku **doesn't actually create a blade of chakra. Instead, the crescent shaped attacks are bludgeoning, able to crush stone and break bones.

As Tenjin was still on his heels, he was unable to completely dodge Naruto's storm of attacks. However, rather than the expected effect, as the crescent shaped chakra attacks rained down on him, they disappeared as they impacted with the red armor, pushing him back slightly, but not causing any severe damage.

'_What the hell?!_' thought Naruto, '_His armor absorbs chakra? How can he possibly perform jutsu if that's the case_.' Deciding to test his theory, Naruto quickly created well over 1000 clones, both corporeal and mere illusion, which littered the arena floor, surrounding Tenjin on all sides. With an unspoken command, the clones rushed in, intent on beating his opponent to within an inch of his life.

Finally regaining his footing, Tenjin stomped the ground not even bothering to create hand seals. Around him, as though a stone had landed in the middle of a lake, the ground rippled as though liquid. The rapidly moving earth and lack of footing caused all of the shadow clones who were unable to escape to the air soon enough to stumble. However, nothing could save them from Tenjin's next move. Immediately after stomping, Tenjin dropped to the ground, concentrating hard and placing his hands on the ground. The ground rumbled around him momentarily before suddenly, ten foot tall earth spikes erupted from the ground, blossoming outwards in an instant in an ever-expanding circle turning the ground of the arena into a jungle of intersecting spikes so numerous they outnumbered the leaves scattered from the obliteration of the small section of forest.

Needless to say, Naruto's clone army was demolished, only the real Naruto managed to escape, standing horizontally on the arena wall. '_What an insane attack?!_' he thought, surveying the ground where not a single inch of the arena floor was unaffected by the attack apart from a small radius around his opponent.

As quickly as they appeared, the stalagmites softened and receded back into the ground as though liquid. The large scale attack had changed the landscape greatly. The forest area now a wasteland of splinters, the lake now filled in, the water dampening the once again smooth earth.

Ground once again safe to traverse, Naruto launched immediately back into his attack. '_**Soru**__._' thought Naruto, as he rushed down the wall speeding towards his opponent at speeds almost too fast to be seen.

Tenjin, however, was unperturbed by his opponent's speed. Flashing through a few hand seals, he called out: "**Raiton: Ikadzuchi no Utage**." sending a large spread of lightning bolts rushing at the ground in front of the approaching blonde. Striking the dampened ground, the lightning quickly conducted through the water all around Naruto.

Jumping into the air to avoid the shock, Naruto said, "**Geppou**" and began bouncing around the air like a ping pong ball making him virtually impossible to hit. Hands forming seals while he jumped around the air, drawing all of the lake's water from the ground he called out: "**Suiton: Takitsubo no Jutsu**." sending a giant wave of the still electrically charged water crashing down at his opponent.

Calmly watching the approaching torrent, Tenjin put his hands together and the earth quickly surrounded him as he used **Iwa no Mayu**. Protected from the crashing waves and his own lightning attack, Tenjin considered his next move. Replacing himself with a **Tsuchi Bunshin** he quickly slid into the ground, waiting for the right moment.

The moment the water cleared and revealed the cocoon of rock protecting Tenjin, Naruto attacked the stone defense, wind swirling around his arm like a tornado. "**Tatsumaki Ken**!" he yelled, shoving the swirling attack into the earthen sphere. The power of Naruto's attack obliterated the stone, collapsing the sphere in on itself. Pressing the assault, Naruto ignored the falling rocks and brought his other hand forward with another **Tatsumaki Ken** already formed. Striking his opponent in the chest, Tenjin's entire upper body exploded leaving only the legs to be seen. Of course, this revealed the Iwa Gennin's ruse, too late for Naruto to prevent the counter attack.

Rising from the ground, Tenjin's already drawn kunai pierced Naruto's chest, driven to the hilt through his heart. Eyes widening in surprise, the Naruto stared at his killer's face for an instant before exploding violently sending Tenjin sprawling, tossed through the air like a rag doll. '_**Bunshin Bakuha**__?_' he thought shocked by his opponent's foresight as he used the momentum to roll to his feet. However, the moment he stood he felt a presence behind him. Too late to put up a counter, he was unable to even move, as the swirling ball of chakra in Naruto's hand impacted with his back, just below the smoking, turnip-shaped protrusion.

Like before, Naruto immediately felt the pull of his opponent's armor trying to absorb the chakra from his attack additionally, he felt tremendous pressure pushing back against his forward momentum, something he had never felt before. Refusing to allow this, his brow knitted in concentration as he increased the power he was using and fed and maintained the jutsu despite the armor. This all occurred in less than a second and with a cry of "**RASENGAN!**" Naruto's attack blasted, twisted, and tore through his opponent's defenses shattering his armor and sending him flying through the air to crash down a good 30 yards away.

'_It's over._' thought Naruto, only one person had ever managed to stand after receiving that attack, and despite his regenerative abilities, even he fell not a moment later. For a moment, it looked like Naruto was correct. But, then, Tenjin pulled himself to his feet, his back to Naruto. His armor, damaged beyond repair, cracked as splintered as it fell off around him. Now bare chested, it was easily visible as the ugly, black spiral on his back, the external result of Naruto's jutsu, began to smoke and hiss softly before it disappeared.

"You shouldn't have done that." Tenjin said calmly and without sounding upset as he removed his hat, still not even looking in Naruto's direction. "I don't wear that armor to protect myself, but rather to restrain my power. Now, however, I'll crush you with everything I have!" he shouted, an intricate seal appearing on his back, just below the shoulder blades as potent, white chakra poured off of him leaking from the seal.

For Naruto, the pieces suddenly clicked into place: Tenjin's insane speed and strength, his casual use of high level ninjutsu, the impossible healing ability, even his unusual attire. Tenjin was a jinchuuriki. Not only that, but apparently the seal containing the beast was imperfect and allowed the Biju's chakra to leak out regardless of his will. His chakra absorbing armor was designed to absorb the potent chakra, but the sheer magnitude and constant output of it led to the armor heating to the point that the steam was produced. The weird turnip protrusion on his back allowed more space from the source of the chakra allowing it to spread over a larger area and limiting the heat reaching his body, also severing to allow the heat and steam a means of escape. With that much chakra continually at his disposal, Tenjin could afford to simply override the chakra absorption for his jutsus. With the armor no longer limiting his access to the biju's chakra, Tenjin had just become a far more dangerous opponent not just to himself, but to everyone in the arena.

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'_White chakra?!_' thought everyone's favorite cyclops. And, he wasn't the only one, many people around the arena recognized the familiarity between the chakra Tenjin was now exuding and that used by the renown White Fang of Konoha. For Kakashi, however, the appearance of the white chakra was caused an almost suffocating resurfacing of memories-memories of his father and his stories of their clan. For generations the Hatake clan had held the dog summoning contract by legend received when the founder of the Hatake clan managed to wound one of the Biju-the great five-tailed dog, master of the elements: the Houkou.

Though the inflicted wound was superficial and healed almost instantly, the man gained the demon's respect. Along with the contract, the great beast bestowed upon the clan a short tanto made from a chip of one of his fangs, promising to lend his power to the Hatake clan for all generations. It was this very same tanto that his father, Hatake Sakumo had used to draw on the creature's power, putting him at a level few would ever achieve. However, according to his father's report after the failed mission that ultimately led to his suicide, the blade's bestowed abilities had stopped working during the mission setting them in the situation where Sakumo had to choose between the lives of his team members or the completion of the mission.

Seeing the man before him now, a light bulb went off in Kakashi's head. The stories were true. By pure coincidence it seemed, Iwagakure had sealed the Gobi no Houkou at a critical moment, locking away the beast's power and indirectly causing his father's death.

Fists clenching at the implications, Kakashi's shoulders slumped at the injustice of it all. '_Tenjin, you're not the only one who has a reason for vengeance._' he thought.

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Acting before his opponent, Naruto made a quick hand seal and a thick mist suddenly appeared, rolling across the arena floor. **Kirigakure no Jutsu** simply drew water particles from the air and condensed them into a dense fog. Because of the almost gradual rate that this occurs, unlike tearing vast amounts of water from the air instantly like most water jutsu require when used away from a water source, **Kirigakure no Jutsu **requires far less chakra to gather the same amount of water. As the mist rolled in, Naruto separated his hands and began forming independent one-handed seals with both hands.

Taking a deep breath, Tenjin turned to face his opponent, hands flying through seals at a blur. "**Katon: Gouryuuka no Jutsu**!" he called out, the mist nearest him evaporating from the heat as a powerful dragon head of flame formed and raced towards Naruto.

Finishing at the same time as the other jinchuuriki, Naruto's hands came together to form the final seal as he yelled: "**Sui-Raiton: Raigeki Suiryuudan**!" The surrounding mist coalesced immediately, forming a sparkling water dragon, the only indication of the electricity it contained.

As water met flame, both attacks dissipated in a rush of steam, only Naruto's lightning attack escaped unimpeded, continuing on towards his opponent. Realizing the incoming attack, Tenjin formed a few hand seals before slicing the air in front of him in a slashing movement sending a wind attack to meet it. Rather than fighting for dominance, when these two attacks met, the wind blade slashed effortlessly through the lightning, cleaving it in two, the two bolts striking harmlessly on either side of Tenjin's person.

Naruto, however, simply flipped out of the way of Tenjin's blade, allowing it to gouge the wall behind him.

"Kukuku." laughed Tenjin, not even bothering to press the assault. "You call _that_ a lightning attack? I think I'll give you a lesson before you die." Reaching into his weapons pouch, the Iwa shinobi pulled out a single kunai. Subtly stringing and tying ninja wire through the hole in the base of the projectile, he charged electricity into the wire and launched the weapon into the air arcing towards his opponent. "**Kage Kunai no Jutsu**." He said, forming the required hand seal in an instant. The single projectile became thousands which momentarily blocked the sun as Tenjin pumped massive amount of chakra into the jutsu. Unable to dodge the sheer number of projectiles falling towards him, he activated his wind defense, trusting in the violent cross-breezes to safely deflect any that would otherwise hit him. And protect him it did, not a single of the falling blades managed to land within a three foot radius of him. However, as he considered himself out of danger, only too late did he notice the web of wire the kunai had laid out all around him.

Looking questioningly at his opponent, he found him holding a dark mass that seemed to course and move as though alive. Looking closer, Naruto realized that the dark ball was actually lightning coursing barely constrained to its form. The substance was an impossibility in itself-so dark that is appeared black, but glowing with electricity and power.

"Essentially all raiton attacks utilize normal, negatively charged lightning." Tessai said, ignoring the burns he was receiving as tendrils of lightning emitted from the mass scorching his skin. "The reason for this is positively charged lightning is at least ten times more powerful, but as you can see, impossible to control fully." Thrusting his arms upwards, the potent lightning fired into the sky. "DISAPPEAR FROM THIS WORLD NAMIKAZE!" he shouted, hands running through hand seals so quickly the individual seals could not be made out even with the sharingan. "**RAITON: TENSHU NO EIDAN!**" Reaching the clouds, the lightning gathered into a sphere and pulled lightning from the coulds increasing 100 fold in size. The positive lightning in the air attracted to the negative lightning coursing through the wires forming a spider web across the field. In an instant, the sphere lost form and a pillar of black lightning engulfed Naruto and nearly half of the arena floor.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but it seemed like a good place to stop. I've been getting to be pretty busy, but hopefully I'll be able to keep up the 1 chapter/week pace that I've begun to set. So, Naruto's fighting the 5-tails Jinchuuriki who has a personal vendetta against him (What do you think of my take on the Gobi container's armor?) and Orochimaru has captured Ino. Anyone have any guesses as to why? (I'll give you a hint, there is an important reason and it has nothing to do with helping me advance the NaruxIno plotline.) Sadly, we won't see that resolved for at least a few chapters, but the fun is only just beginning. Next time: Conclusion and Invasion?

Jutsu Library:

**Hebigakure no Jutsu**-Hiding inside a snake technique (much like Jiraiya's Gamagakure no Jutsu)

**Impact**-Impact (Rokushiki: Using his control over wind, Naruto violently forces away the air between his hand and the opponent's body creating a vacuum. The damage is inflicted primarily by the air rushing back into the space at such speed that an explosion occurs (much like how the sound is created when one cracks their knuckles).)

**Rankyaku: Renge**-Storm Leg: Lotus Blossom (Rokushiki: Fires a crescent shaped projectile of chakra from the user's leg. The projectile will then split into a multitude of smaller scythe shaped blades which will bludgeon the opponent.)

**Rankyaku**-Storm Leg (Rokushiki: Fire a crescent shaped projectile of chakra from the user's leg which will bludgeon the opponent.)

**Shinkuujin**- Vacuum Blade (Rokushiki: Using his control over wind, Naruto parts the air, creating a vacuum with a razor sharp edge also capable of dousing flames by drawing away the oxygen they require.)

**Soru**- Shave (Rokushiki: Taijutsu technique allowing user to move at rapid speeds by stomping the ground 10 times in an instant, concentrating chakra into the ground until it explodes to propel the person forward)

**Raiton: Ikadzuchi no Utage**-Lightning Element: Lightning Bolt Feast

**Geppou**-Moon Step (Rokushiki-Using his control over wind, Naruto forces the air below him to condense to the point at which he is able to spring from it as though it were a solid mass.)

**Suiton: Takitsubo no Jutsu**-Water Element: Waterfall Basin Technique

**Iwa no Mayu**-Cocoon of Stone

**Tsuchi Bunshin**-Earth Clone

**Tatsumaki Ken**-Hurricane Fist

**Bunshin Bakuha**-Clone Explosion

**Rasengan**-Spiral Sphere

**Kirigakure no Jutsu**-Hidden Mist Technique

**Katon: Gouryuuka no Jutsu**-Fire Element: Great Dragon Fire Technique

**Sui-Raiton: Raigeki Suiryuudan**-Water & Lightning Element: Lightning Strike Water Dragon

**Kage Kunai no Jutsu**-Kunai Shadow Clone Technique

**Raiton: Tenshu no Eidan**-Lightning Element-Heaven's Judgement


	25. Chapter 24: Conclusion and Invasion?

A/N: Hi all. I'm sorry for the exceedingly long wait. Without wasting more of your time, here's the chapter. Thanks as always to my wonderful beta for sticking with me through my hiatus.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Chapter 24**

Shielding their eyes from the shining pillar of darkness, the crowd could only wait with baited breath to see the result of Tenjin's attack. Everyone present could recognize the power behind the attack, but only a select few truly understood what it was-an S-ranked jutsu. Much like missions, jutsu are arranged on a scale of A-E with decreasing difficulty and chakra requirement the further down the list one goes. For those top-tier shinobi, there are S-level jutsu which supersedes even A-rank techniques in both power and complexity. Most of these techniques are forbidden, require a kekkai genkai, or force the user to sacrifice their life to use (sometimes all 3). Combined, the many kage-level ninja throughout shinobi history know at best a handful of them to call upon if the situation is truly dire.

After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was a mere few seconds, the jutsu began to burn itself out-the column of lightning began to shrink, decreasing in diameter towards its center. As the lightning began to recede, the audience could only gape in wonder at the devastation left behind. Nothing of the arena floor remained. Rather, a gaping hole now existed in the arena easily 30 feet deep, and 100 feet across.

'_It can't be_.' Thought Jiraiya, Tsunade, Gaara, and many others as the outlook for the blonde-haired protagonist looked beyond bleak.

Finally, however, the lightning disappeared entirely revealing what most would consider impossible. With the roar of the lightning now gone, the shrill sound of a buzz saw could be heard, the shrill noise grating to the ears. There, exactly where he had been before the attack, stood a radically changed Uzumaki Naruto. Below his feet, an almost comically narrow (in comparison to the hole surrounding him) column of stone extended into the abyss below. Potent red chakra swirling violently around him; once-blonde hair now turned crimson; eyes now red, slitted, and predatory; whisker marks thicker and more feral; Naruto kneeled down on one knee holding above his head a maelstrom of power. The **Futon: Rasen Shuriken **he held was very different from the one he had shown Kakashi. Easily three times the size, the central ball was now an angry mass of swirling red, the wispy blades of wind were spinning so fast that the jutsu appeared to be a solid disk rather than a four-pronged blade.

"Impossible!" shouted the Tsuchikage, gaping at the transformation. As the existence of a Kyuubi jinchuuriki was hardly a secret, those of Iwa were well aware that Konoha held such a weapon at their disposal. However, he had never truly considered the possibility that the 'beloved' son of his most hated enemy would have been selected for that burden. Even with that unaccounted for variable, even the Kyuubi host should have been incinerated by the power of Tenjin's **Raiton: Tenshu No Eidan**, which was the strongest lightning attack he had ever encountered. The possibility that the Gennin-ranked Namikaze was the container for the strongest Biju _and_ held an S-rank wind jutsu up his sleeve never could have crossed his mind.

Sighing in relief, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and even Gaara allowed relieved smiles to grace their faces. Turning to the disbelieving Tsuchikage, Tsunade couldn't help but rub in the small victory. "Well, what did you expect from Konoha's most unpredictable ninja?"

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Moments earlier:

"**RAITON: TENSHU NO EIDAN!**" he heard his opponent call out. Immediately, he could feel it, the electrical charge that filled the air around him. They say, in our last moments, our lives flash before our eyes. To Naruto, however, time seemed to slow to a halt as he looked desperately for an escape route. However, the opposite polarity of the electrical currents had caused the wires around him to rise off the ground creating a nearly impenetrable forest of razor-sharp wire. Looking to the sky, he saw the ever-approaching column of lightning approaching. With no other option in sight, Naruto dove deep and began to pull out Kyuubi's chakra, as much as he could handle. He hated doing this, the more of the beast's chakra he used, the closer to the surface of his mind the demon lord came and the more of a sway he had over him.

Even as the power began to rush through his veins, forcing the painful expansion of his already large chakra pathways, Naruto began to swirl the power into his palms-chakra in the right, wind conversion in the left. In less than the instant that the judgment from above took to engulf him, Naruto had formed his most powerful attack. The rapid spin of the blades drowned out by the roar of his opponent's attack. Raising the immensely powerful attack above his head, he braced himself for the impact.

Despite his preparations, Naruto was floored by the overwhelming force of Tenjin's attack. Unable to stand, he dropped to one knee, his attack barely holding back the black death that now surrounded him. Struggling to breathe, he knew, it wasn't enough. Gritting his teeth, Naruto dug deeper. Slowly, his attack stabilized, and began to push back against the electricity above him. However, just as he considered himself safe, he recognized his mistake as cold, merciless laughter began to echo throughout his mind before everything went black.

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Back in the present, Naruto's power continued to overflow. Yelling out a bestial roar, he activated **Soru** and disappeared from the insignificant pillar, the backlash of his departure casing it to collapse into the abyss below. For the civilians in the audience (and even some of the shinobi) the only indication of Naruto's position as he rushed towards the Iwa jinchuuriki was the appearance of an army of clones who launched their assault at the time. Unlike the rest of the fight, Naruto no longer seemed to be calm and in control. His attacks were now less refined and much more feral.

Despite the shock that his opponent had survived his strongest attack, Tenjin met the attacking army head on. The aura around him forming a more pronounced canine shape, the white chakra behind him split into a rainbow of five colored tails (blue, red, yellow, brown, and gray). Dropping into a familiar stance, he called out "**Rogafuufuuken**." and began to pummel the approaching masses. Independently of the man's taijutsu attacks, the chakra tails swirled around him launching a continual flow of elemental attacks of every element to stave off attacks from every direction.

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"This match is insane." Kiba broke the silence that had encompassed the area of the stands where the once-entitled 'rookie nine' were sitting.

The rhetorical statement was certainly agreed upon by the other gathered Gennin. This wasn't like watching a match of Gennin, Chuunin, or even Jounin. Rather, the fight occurring below them looked to be a cross between that of nearly kage-level shinobi and wild animals.

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Drip. Drip. Drip.

The ever-present noise permeated his mindscape. The cold, dank sewer filled his vision as Naruto opened his eyes. The lighting was so dim, he could hardly see around him other than the massive glowing, slitted eyes and razor sharp teeth which seemed to hover above him.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself." he said simply, indicating the beast's smile.

"**I HAVEN'T HAD THIS MUCH FUN IN A LONG TIME, THANKS TO THIS ACCURSED SEAL**." the beast said, its voice powerful and rumbling.

As Naruto focused, the lighting began to improve, revealing the towering form of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Once again, Naruto couldn't help but admire Jiraiya's improvements to the original seal. Shackled down, the Kyuubi no longer had free reign within his cage. In fact, he could hardly move, let along threaten his host. However, the muzzle that his mind used as a metaphor for what held back the beast's communications with him now lay discarded on the floor below the great beast.

"You know you don't have any actual control over my body. Only your more primal urges can reach me, no matter how hard you try." Naruto conversed, seemingly totally calm. In reality, he was anything but. Until he managed to regain control of his body, he could only watch, a spectator able to see the world around him only as though he were watching TV. Beyond that, his seal had clearly weakened, the Kyuubi's power simply too strong to be contained forever by the relatively weak three trigram seal.

"**PERHAPS NOT, BUT EVEN SO, ANGER AND RAGE ARE POWERFUL EMOTIONS. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FRIEND AND FOE. SOON ENOUGH, YOU'LL BE SLAUGHTERING THOSE CLOSEST TO YOU**."

Weaker than the **Gogyou Fuuin **that Orochimaru had once put on him, Jiraiya's added seal was not powerful enough to inhibit his access to the kyuubi's chakra. It did, however, prevent a seal that could from completely cutting off his access. Anything he was currently channeling could be still be used, so the immediate exhaustion wouldn't hit him and he would retain consciousness and his ability to fight with his own chakra.

Chuckling at the Kyuubi, he indicated the views around them. "I'm only attacking that other jinchuuriki. So, thanks for the help." and, with that, he closed his eyes and began to meditate, a small smile on his face as the Kyuubi growled his frustration.

While Naruto knew he was probably more powerful than the other jinchuuriki, even in this berserker form, how, could he defeat an opponent nearly as powerful and durable as himself without involving the spectators around him? Suddenly, it hit him. Unable to repress the opportunity mock the fox he added, "Well, it's been fun, thanks for the powwow. Your dragging me down here actually had the added benefit of ensuring my victory. Thanks again. Oh, and rot in hell." With that said, the sewers around him began to swirl as his meditation allowed him to slowly regain control over the Kyuubi's chakra, returning control of his body back to his conscious mind.

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World snapping back into focus, Naruto dropped to the ground, rolled, and dove backwards to avoid the never ending attacks of his opponent. Creating a wall of shadow clones, Naruto placed some distance between himself and Tenjin preparing to give himself some time to initiate his plan.

Now that he was back in control of all of his faculties, his clones too had calmed down and were now approaching the enemy in more coordinated attack patterns. However, being just normal shadow clones, of course, they lasted no longer than the rest had as the five-tails container demolished them in a matter of seconds. However, they had served their purpose, and thanks to all the information the clones had been providing him with, he had a pretty good idea of what to expect from his opponent.

With luck, however, having slaughtered a large number of them already, Tenjin may be complacent that he knew their capabilities which would hopefully, enable Naruto to put his plan into motion. Creating his most commonly used hand seal, Naruto called forth an army of clones, shadow clones hidden within the larger number of illusionary clones to once again stall for more time.

Concealing himself with a few clones around to guard from attack, Naruto drew a pen and some ink. Penning furiously, Naruto handed the drawing to a nearby clone. Those clones that had moments before been protecting him spoke in unison "**Hachimon Tonko: Daisan: Kai!**" In an explosion of chakra, the group attacked.

The celestial gates, when opened properly can allow a shinobi access to the full capabilities of their body, releasing the natural limitations that every person contains to keep those abilities from harming them. However, opening even a single gate will put massive strain on the body, the strain becoming severe, even permanent damage as more gates are open. However, for a clone this is not really an issue. Muscle exhaustion is hardly something to be worried about when in you won't be around long enough for the lactic acid to build up. Thus, shadow clones are capable of opening gates for a short time indiscriminately of the strain the body would normally suffer. However, opening more than three gates is impossible as the strain begins to cause actual damage to the clone's tendons and muscles resulting in the clone being dispelled. Likewise, continual use of the first three gates will result in the clone puffing out of existence unless the user has regenerative capabilities, something Naruto just happens to have.

Augmenting the speed boost granted to them by opening the gates with **Soru**, six superpowered clones brought the fight to Tenjin. Dodging jutsu and strikes, they flitted about occasionally rushing in to score a hit. While Tenjin's partial Biju form made him incredibly powerful, highly resilient, and capable of dealing phenomenal offensive damage, the potency of the Biju's chakra made it impossible to rationalize and form a strategic plan of attack.

Obliterating the normal shadow clones about him, Tenjin simply brushed off the strikes-powerful though they were-of the speedier clones. Naruto, still standing a 'safe' distance away, had expected this. He doubted, in fact that the other jinchuuriki had even noticed the difference given the massive number of clones, both solid and illusion he was dealing with. The only thing differentiating those few clones was a minor glow around them and slight darkening of their skin which, while noticeable likely got lost in the sea of orange and black.

Seeing his opening, the clone which Naruto had given the paper to rushed in to complete his task. Dodging a boulder tossed his way (which crushed several clones behind him who lacked his speed boost), the clone ducked under a punch, and spun around an earth spike which erupted at his feet, thrusting the paper onto Tenjin's forehead.

The result was immediate. The chakra that had until then been pouring off the earth jinchuuriki began to recede into the seal. Eyes widening, the giant man immediately erected thick walls of earth to protect him from his opponent's assault. Ripping what he now recognized to be a suppression seal off his face not 5 seconds after it had been applied, Tenjin let the chakra explode back out of him blasting apart the earth walls around him and showering rocks in all directions, in the process serendipitously destroying all of Naruto's solid clones.

The damage, however, had already been done. Using the split second in which Tenjin's demonic chakra receded into the seal, Naruto's clones had watched diligently to identify the seal the giant man had containing his Biju. Even as the thought passed through his mind of the absurdity of trying to contain the Biju of five tails with a mere four point seal, Naruto rushed his opponent, hands forming the necessary seals. Materializing behind the larger man, fingers already aglow, Naruto dug his hand into his opponent's back. "**Gogyou Fuuin**."

Like flipping a light switch, in an instant, the massive chakra that had run through and leaked out from his body his entire life vanished. For Tenjin, that chakra was as much a part of his existence as his own chakra- as necessary as the air he breathed. Much like Naruto did when Orochimaru had applied the seal to him all those years ago, Tenjin immediately pitched forward in blissful unconsciousness.

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Up in the Kage's box, Tsuande couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. Turning to her Earth country counterpart, her smile widened at the way his eyes were bulging in shock and anger as Shikaku announced Naruto as the winner and the medical team rushed quickly onto the field. Before the other military leader could regain his composure, she stood to address the cheering crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for attending this year's Chuunin exam. Congratulations to all of our competitors for the wonderful demonstration of ninja skills they provided us. You have brought great honor to your respective countries…"

Tuning out the deceptively young-looking woman, the Tsuchikage gritted his teeth in murderous rage. '_Impossible!_' that was the single thought repeating over and over in his mind. Tenjin was his nephew, his prized student, his ace-in-the-hole, the most powerful shinobi amongst his ranks despite his Gennin status (though Roshi, with his own Biju and experience, would possibly come out on top if the two were ever pitted against each other). He had never lost to an opponent before, crushing every enemy underfoot with his Biju's seemingly limitless power. It was unthinkable, inexcusable, for him to lose now-not to the son of _that _man. Not when he was so close to having his revenge. Throwing all diplomacy and caution to the wind, he was prepared to issue his men in the stands the command finish the blond-haired brat ('_he surely had to be severely weakened and exhausted after the fight_') when an explosion below caught his attention.

The medical team, which until a moment ago was approaching Tenjin to tend to any moves he may have received, was gone. In its place was nothing but a smoking crater splattered with blood and littered with body parts. Even as the crowd screamed in surprise and fear, eyes honed from decades of training flitted around the field looking for the culprit.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he heard the Hokage accuse even as his eyes locked on the attacker as the man rose from the ground. He saw red.

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"Thank you for gift wrapping the Biju for us, yeah." Naruto heard from his left. Tearing his eyes from the obliterated medics to the source of the voice, Naruto saw only shifting black cloak with red clouds. Exhausted from the strain of controlling the Kyuubi's overwhelming chakra as well as the energy expended by the battle, he couldn't move in time as a powerful kick connected with his chin sending him crashing several yards away. "He was pretty damn strong, this is much easier than fighting him myself, yeah."

With an underhand throwing motion, almost like a frisbee, the man tossed an item on the ground next to him. With a quiet 'poof,' a large clay bird appeared. A grin graced the man's lips as he heard none other than his old boss scream "It's Deidara! Kill him!" Seeing the motion as the contingent of Iwa shinobi moved to attack, the grin widened and became more predatory as his hands came together in a single hand seal. He had the entirety of the finals matches to prepare his attack, his clay explosives having plenty of time to get into position. "Art is a bang!" the blond man yelled as an explosion rocked the stadium as the entire set of bleachers detonated sending the Iwa shinobi flying in all directions-some dead, some injured, and only a small subset having the experience to escape unscathed.

Seeing the demise of his subordinates, the Tsuchikage moved to attack the S-ranked Iwa criminal while Tsunade signaled her hidden ANBU, and other shinobi scattered throughout the stadium to attack the intruder. Before the Tsuchikage could even make it out of the box, sand swirled around them sealing them in.

"What are you doing Gaara?!" Tsunade asked rounding on the young kage.

One eye closed as he watched outside with his third eye, the jinchuuriki responded simply "We're under attack." As he spoke, he allowed 100's of projectile weapons to pass gently through the sand to emphasize his point. As the hail of weapons ceased, the sand dropped allowing the kages to glimpse the madness outside.

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The moment the explosion engulfed the Iwa delegation, dozens of red-cloaked, masked figures appeared seemingly from thin air bursting from the smoke. A good 30 began launching a massive hail of kunai and shuriken towards the Kage's box to keep the strongest opposition preoccupied as the remaining force moved to intercept the remaining Iwa and gathered Konoha shinobi.

Having recovered from the Akatsuki member's kick, Naruto launched himself at the assailant. He only made it half way to the man before having to duck and dive out of the way of attacks sent by a trio of the red-cloaked, masked figures.

His smirk turning to a full-blown grin, as the Tsuchikage appeared in front of him, his hat and mask long forgotten revealing the middle-aged man hidden underneath, Deidara picked up the still-unconscious jinchuuriki at his feet and tossed the much larger man onto the back of his clay creation. 'Tail feathers' of the bird wrapped around Tenjin, securing him in place as Deidara sent a flock of explosive birds towards his old superior.

With an effortless set of seals, the Tsuchikage caused a 15 foot tall earth wall to erupt between them. However, the birds, controlled by Deidara's chakra avoided impact and flew around the wall to converge on the other side. A small explosion ensued and smoke poured on either side of the rock wall.

Before he could celebrate his victory, the earth wall melted as though made of wet mud and reformed into the heads of several dragons. "**Doton: Dai Doryuudan**." He heard from the other side of the wall as the dragons' mouths opened and unleashed a torrent of earth missiles. Hopping on the back of his clay bird, Deidara took to the air, flying above and away from the kage's attack. As he flew higher, he couldn't help but taunt the man, the sound carrying down over the sounds of battle all around. "You're still too weak old man. First your wife, now your nephew, I may well take your whole family from you, yeah."

With senses honed from years of experience, Deidara commanded his bird into a corkscrew, narrowly avoiding the large 'hand' of sand that had formed behind him and threatened to swat him out of the air. Settling back right side up, he glanced around to find none other than the Godaime Kazekage floating on a large volume of sand rapidly approaching him. '_Perfect_.'He thought. '_Looks like it's time to leave_.' Gliding away, out of the stadium and away from Konoha, he looked back to see if the Ichibi was following him. Grinning as the Kazekage raced after him, Deidara pushed his vessel on towards his destination.

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Back in the stadium, every capable shinobi was battling what many of the more experienced had come to recognize as puppets when suddenly the entire army disappeared. Eyes searching the stadium, confirming the lack of hostiles, the previously battling shinobi burst into motion, scrambling to help the wounded and the civilians.

Up in the stands, a red-haired teenage smirked as he concealed a large scroll within his cloak. Turning away from the frantic crowd around him, he calmly exited the stadium.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. The second half of this chapter I don't necessarily feel is really up to snuff, but it's time to start moving the storyline forward. Again, I apologize to all my avid readers for the long hiatus. I had this chapter around 70 percent done back in July, but thanks to a computer crash, I lost the entirety of this story. By the time I got my computer back, I had lost plenty of motivation. After that, school, work, and life got in the way. Unfortunately, I can't promise that such a hiatus won't occur again, but I'll do my best to get chapters out in a far more reasonable amount of time. Thanks to everyone who's still reading. As always, R&R.

Jutsu Library:

**Futon: Rasen Shuriken**-Wind Element: Spiral Shuriken

**Raiton: Tenshu No Eidan**-Lightning Element: Heaven's Judgement

**Soru**-Shave (Rokushiki: Taijutsu technique allowing user to move at rapid speeds by stomping the ground 10 times in an instant, concentrating chakra into the ground until it explodes to propel the person forward)

**Rogafuufuuken**-Wolf Fang Fist

**Gogyou Fuuin**-Five Elements Seal

**Hachimon Tonko: Daisan: Kai**-Eight Gates Opening: Third Gate: Release

**Doton: Dai Doryuudan-**Earth Element: Great Earth Dragon Projectile


	26. Chapter 25: Chasing Akatsuki

A/N: First off I want to say, wow! The amount of interest I had last chapter was staggering. On the 12th when I posted it, I got ~1500 more hits than on any other day of this story. So, thanks everyone who read. Of the ~1500 people to read over the last week and a half, I only received 6 reviews, so specific thanks to astronight34int, dbtiger63, anon, and InARealPickle for their reviews and special thanks for CelticReaper for his continued support. In light of the upcoming break, I'm putting out this chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 25  
**

The stadium was a mad house. Medic-nins and those who had medical training were zipping about attempting to save those injured in the brief but hard-fought battle. With her long-trained skills, Tsunade quickly recognized the signs of various poisons coursing through the veins of the injured. Despite the fact that none of the victims seemed to be under immediate risk of dying, she would give most of them less than 72 hours. This made for a highly dangerous situation. Not only were all of the poisons unique, preventing her from identifying and simply fixing them, but even if she had the antidotes, providing the wrong one could kill the victim as effectively as the poisons themselves. Cursing under her breath, Tsunade directed her best medical team to gather the projectiles Gaara had collected and analyze them to begin synthesizing antidotes. Glancing around the stadium one more time, her eyes widened and she blurred into movement.

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The Tsuchikage, ignoring the movement around him, clenched his fists as smoke still figuratively poured from his ears from the brief run-in with the one man he wanted dead even more than the Yondaime Hokage's son. As the boy crossed his mind, his eyes focused squarely on said ninja who was conversing hurriedly with a group of shinobi around his age. Blinded by rage, without caring about the ramifications, the Earth leader raised his hands, intending to silence the insolent whelp permanently.

The Jinketsu clan was famous in Iwa, both the current Tsuchikage as well as his brother (and predecessor) having risen quickly in rank in power thanks to the kekkai genkai they shared. It was unfortunate, he thought as cracks began to form in the air behind his fists, that the Gobi had squelched Tenjin's access to this ability.

As the ground began to rumble, however, a hand grabbed his arm-so focused was he on the blonde insult he was that he hadn't even noticed the approaching presence-interrupting his concentration. Reflexively moving to attack his assailant, the middle-aged kage was ill-prepared to be doubled over with a bone-shattering punch to the stomach. As the pain of disintegrated ribs coursed through him in blinding pain, he squinted up to see none other than the Godaime Hokage standing over him hands aglow with green energy.

"I will not allow you to attack a shinobi of Konoha. We have had enough bloodshed for one day." She stated simply. It was the last thing he heard before he dropped into unconsciousness.

Immediately pressing her hands gently to the man's injury, Tsunade began to heal his wounds. Though she was enraged that the man would dare to attack her shinobi, she certainly didn't wish to risk an international incident by killing the other kage. Once the bones of her Earth counterpart's floating ribs collected, merged, and solidified back into their original, uninjured shapes she fixed the minor internal bleeding and called over one of the few remaining Iwa shinobi to care for him.

"What happened to him?" asked the kunoichi, eyes narrowed in suspicion at the sight of her leader apparently defeated.

Brushing off the question, Tsunade simply responded, "He'll be fine, he's just unconscious. Excuse me." Noticing Jiraiya land next to Naruto and his friends, she left situation in her old teammates hands. Walking away from the foreign shinobi, she returned to assisting the groups of medics frantically working to save the shinobi poisoned by the puppets' various poisons.

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Having eaten a soldier pill generously provided by Kiba, Naruto felt much better, his strength rapidly returning. Oblivious to the situation Tsunade had just saved him from, Naruto turned as he felt his mentor approach.

"Gaara is in pursuit of the attacker. Gaara's powerful as you well know, but this is Akatsuki we're talking about, which means he could be in serious danger. Though I hate to pit you against Akatsuki especially after that battle, you're the only one who can catch him in time to assist him." Jiraiya said providing Naruto with his mission.

Nodding to his mentor, Naruto took a deep breath and gathered his energy. Jumping into the air, he said, "**Geppou**." as the winds swirled around him. Jumping off the air, he rushed higher and higher in the direction Gaara had gone.

Turning to the assembled Kiba, Lee, Neji, and Tenten, Jiraiya continued. "Akatsuki always works in pairs. The one who left with Tenjin couldn't have been controlling the puppets."

"You're quite correct." came an aged voice from beside them. Turning to the sound of the voice, they found Kankuro, a bearded Suna Jounin, and an old woman who a few recognized had arrived with Gaara for the finals. "Though even I can't believe he could have reached such a level, the puppets could only have been controlled by one person: Akasuna no Sasori."

"And who are you?" asked Kiba tactlessly.

"I'll explain on the way." replied the old woman, "Sasori is doubtlessly planning to meet up with his partner, but won't be moving nearly as fast, if we move now, we should be able to catch him long before the two can regroup."

Agreeing with her assessment, Jiraiya nodded to her and moved to follow as she and Kankuro jumped away in pursuit. "You four with us." Jiraiya said jumping after her.

As they exited the stadium, Sakura fell into line with them. "I'm coming with you. You need a medic and Tsunade-shishou gave me several vials of antidote she managed to synthesize of the various poisons."

Acknowledging her presence, the group continued, not even slowing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene Change-----------------------------------------------------------------

Gaara was no fool. He recognized a trap when he saw one. Though he couldn't imagine how the man in front of him could have predicted this situation, as he looked out at the waters beneath him as his prey had turned for the first time to face him, he couldn't ignore the obvious.

"Looks like you've figured it out." Deidara spoke to the red haired Jinchuuriki. "Sasori was responsible for the gobi, my target is you. Being able to take you at the same time is just a bonus, yeah."

Not much one for words, Gaara remained silent, considering his options. He could either battle here where his opponent has him at a disadvantage (with water as far as the eye could see, most of his strongest techniques were useless), or attempt to return to the mainland to increase his battle power, but run the risk of his opponent simply leaving with the other Jinchuuriki. The decision, however, was taken out of his hands as his eyes noticed several objects flitting towards him quickly from his opponent.

Sand rising automatically to intercept them, Gaara was surprised by the explosions that followed. The first bird-shaped objects to reach him blasted his shield of sand apart, the blasts not reaching him, but enabling the birds behind them to pass through the defense unimpeded. Reacting instantly, Gaara waved a hand, the sand he was floating on lifting up in the shapes of hands and encompassing the explosives, crushing them and withholding the explosions.

Flicking a wrist, the sand shield in front of him destabilized and reformed before launching towards the missing nin. "**Suna shuriken**." Gaara said simply, his eye twitching slightly as he watched the clay bird dip to dodge the attack. Noticing his opponent release more of his explosives, Gaara raised a hand to put his sand between himelf and the attacks before simply dropping through the sand below him, freefalling as the clay exploded into the sand above him. One hand directing his **Sabaku Fuyuu** to catch him, the other flexed momentarily before he slashed his arm diagonally. Despite the whispered, "**Suna Eisou**." in his fall, the action was hidden.

Hair on the back of his neck standing on edge, Deidara sensed more than saw the attack form. Spinning upside down by reflex, he was shocked as spears of sand pierced effortlessly through the wings, several others sticking through the belly of the bird like a pincushion fortunately missing his feet. With the wings damaged, the clay bird began to drop like a stone. Channeling chakra to the construct, the holes quickly filled in, and, just barely touching the water, the bird righted itself and returned to the sky.

Allowing himself a smirk, Gaara commanded his sand once again. Even from where he floated, Gaara couldn't miss the widening of Deidara's eyes as the sand spears lost their shape and engulfed his legs up to his waist. Not giving him even a moment to struggle, Gaara closed his fist, the sand constricting in an instant as the "**Sabaku Kyuu**." liquefied his opponent's lower body.

Panting with the exertion of floating on his sand for as long as he had, Gaara thought for just one moment that he had won. Directing his sand to reclaim the kidnapped Iwa jinchuuriki, a half second warning was all Gaara had before the bird exploded, the force blasting him off his platform. Automatically calling his sand back under him, Gaara righted himself, sand cracking and falling off his body, just in time to see a gigantic figure burst from the waters below.

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"It's been a long time Chiyo…" said Jiraiya as they ran.

"This isn't the time Jiraiya." replied the old woman. "I may not have any lost love for the Slug Woman, but Suna and Konoha are now allies and this fight is personal."

"Personal you say?" asked the old toad hermit. "Despite our long history, I've never heard of this Akasuna no Sasori. Just what sort of battle are we getting into?"

"You wouldn't have. Sasori was one of Suna's most closely guarded secrets. Oh, your ninja fought him in the war, but none of them returned to tell the tale. Sasori was a genius puppet master the likes of which hasn't been seen since. Though at one time he was an inspiration to Suna's ranks, after what happened 20 years ago, my grandson is one of those secrets that Suna wishes they could forget."

Noticing the minor slip, Neji questioned, "Grandson?"

"Observant as always, Hyuuga." came the reply. "Yes, after Konoha's White Fang killed my other son, Sasori is my only remaining legacy. Some days, I think my body only keeps kicking because he still lives."

"So, you're just a liability then." Kiba exclaimed.

"Don't misunderstand me. His existence is my village and my family's biggest shame. I keep living so that I can end his life myself."

The entire group came to a sudden halt as a figure appeared in front of them, sitting casually on a branch. "Is that so Grandmother? I never knew you cared."

"Sasori…" she said, immediately recognizing the figure before her.

"You know, I truly never imagined that you would be here. This day just keeps getting better and better."

"It's been 20 years and you haven't aged a day. Do you even have a shred of humanity left?" Chiyo asked referring to his appearance.

"Neji, take your team and Kiba and support Naruto and Gaara. Sakura, if this is truly who attacked Konoha, we may well need your expertise, but stay out of the fight if you can, it's not your offensive power that we need." ordered Jiraiya, his eyes never leaving the deceptively young-looking man across from them.

As Team Gai plus one darted away, Neji's Byakugan flaring to follow the dissipating chakra signatures of Naruto's **Geppou**, Chiyo added, "Yuura, Kankuro, go with them. Between myself and Jiraiya we should be fine against Sasori."

As Yuura jumped off after the Konoha shinobi, Kankuro remained behind. "With all due respect, of the two opponents, my expertise would be of much more use here against a puppet user like Sasori."

With an almost imperceptible nod of acceptance, Chiyo launched into her attack, not missing the fleeting look of amusement on her grandson's face. Tossing ten kunai, she waved her hands controlling the projectiles with chakra strings far more accurately and effectively than possible with ninja wire.

As the weapons closed in on Sasori's position, the missing nin's cloak tore apart, revealing two sets of five blades protruding from his back in a wing-like appearance. Spinning in front of him, the blades deflected each of the weapons as a metal spear pushed into the ground and connected to flexible weaved metal cable which coils within where his stomach and intestines used to be. Extending, the extension pushed him upwards as Jiraiya darted past with an outstretched **Rasengan**. Noticing Kankuro unseal a trio of familiar puppets, he grinned as he redirected himself and raced for the Suna Jounin.

Acting on instinct, the Sasori spun and launched powerful flamethrowers from tubes in the center of each of his palms, one deflecting the fireball Jiraiya had sent his way and the other forcing Chiyo to dodge backwards keeping her at a distance. Even while preoccupied, the Suna missing nin deflected the needles Kankuro fired from Sanshouuo's mouth landing lightly on his feet, the metal wire retracted in an instant back into his chest before launching towards the once again attacking Jiraiya.

Jiraiya, being the ninja that he was easily batted aside the fast moving, spear-like tip and pressed his assault, but was forced to dodge and roll away as the serrated wire attempted to ensnare and constrict him.

Again making a point to attack using his enemy's distraction, Kankuro sent his three puppets into motion calling out, "**Doku Kiri Jigoku: Baribari Hyaku Renpatsu**." as Karasu launched several poison mist balls at the Akatsuki member before them.

Not even looking at the Suna Jounin as the poison cloud engulfed him, Sasori's five-bladed wings began to whirl like a buzz saw, deflecting the hundreds of needles sent from the puppets surrounding him. Again retracting his metal cable Sasori launched another jet of flames at his two strongest enemies keeping them momentarily at bay.

"Enough" Sasori cried out as the rain of needles ended. While surprised that the man had so easily defended one of his most deadly attacks (not to mention the poison seeming to have no effect on him), Kankuro was an experienced Jounin and prepared simply to adapt his strategy. He was, however, shocked as his puppets simply disintegrated-so shocked, in fact, that he was unable to dodge the cable Sasori had launched at him, partially concealed by the mist. Noticing at only the last moment, he managed to dodge a killing blow but the metal cable blasted through his left shoulder, the serrated wire tearing the flesh wildly preventing a clean wound and maximizing the injection of the poison it carried.

Mouth opened in a scream of pain, Kankuro toppled forward as the cable retracted, intensifying the already gaping wound, the poison already coursing through his system. "Fool! Did you honestly think that I would allow my own creations to be used against me?!" Sasori bit out, amusement etched on his face. Knowing exactly how well the poison worked, Sasori returned his full attention to the two aged legends still in front of him.

While it is well known in Suna that the legendary puppet master Akasuna no Sasori was responsible for creating many of the puppet designs still used today, a much lesser known fact was the failsafe mechanism that Sasori took to ensure that should his weapons would ever be used against him, he would be able to disable them with a single hand seal. The trick was in the construction. Puppets are made with a multitude of hidden compartments, storage seals, traps, and weapons-so many in fact that other than the most expert puppet designers (of which there are very few) no one else would fully understand the uses and full functions of all of the parts. It was with this knowledge that Sasori managed to hide a self-destruct seal that could only be activated with his chakra within each of his designs, designs that were still being used today.

Upon seeing Kankuro's defeat, Chiyo's eyes hardened, pulling out a scroll and flipping it open. Channeling chakra to it, she summoned the contents in front of her revealing ten white-robed puppets.

"Ah yes, as impressive as ever Grandma. It's always been said that the strength of a puppeteer is measured by the number of puppets they can control. This is the first time that I've ever seen this technique, though I of course have heard the rumors of the great **Shirahigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shuu**. It's been said that with this technique, you were able to bring down an entire castle." Even as he said this, Sasori removed a scroll from the trio laying on his back. Opening a flap in the right side of his chest, he released the seals on the scroll revealing the dozens of puppets that had attacked Konoha. "Though you've seen it before, with this, I brought a country to its knees."

"Be careful. Even a single scratch from any weapon can be deadly without proper treatment." Chiyo noted to Jiraiya.

Giving no indication Jiraiya that he had heard her, Jiraiya began flashing through seals. "**Ranji Shigumi no Jutsu**." he called out, his hair expanding in all directions wrapping up a half dozen of the puppets before constricting and crushing them. Having initiated the fight, the puppet war began in earnest with a good 30 puppets training a hail of needles at him while dozens of others focused on Chiyo and her army.

Seeing her opportunity with Sasori distracted, Sakura, who until this point had been hiding in the trees where they first arrived watching the battle in awe, jumped down to heal the injured Kankuro. Despite knowing that he was likely poisoned as well, hands glowing green as she focused her attention on the more pressing matter of the hole in his shoulder. Despite her training, the horrible wound nearly made her gag, the flesh torn apart in jagged slices. As long as she could keep him from bleeding out, it wasn't a fatal wound, but the damage done to his musculature, unless she was thorough with her healing would likely end his career as a shinobi.

Seeing Sakura attempting to save Kankuro, Jiraiya knew that he had to ensure Sasori's attention. Shielding himself from the rain of poisoned needles with his **Hari Jizou**, Jiraiya waited for the bombardment to stop before launching himself towards Sasori, his puppet moving between them to engage. Hidden under his mane of hedgehog like hair spikes, Jiraiya flipped through some more hand seals before calling out, "**Hari Jigoku**." and launching thousands of the hardened blades of hair towards Sasori and his puppets skewering many of them.

Recognizing the danger of the chakra-enforced hair, Sasori quickly switched his flamethrower scroll with a water jet scroll (rather than defending with his wing-like blades) and launched a powerful current from both hands at the incoming projectiles blowing them off course. Frowning slightly, Sasori pressed his puppet assault on Jiraiya. He had no illusions about the strength of the man he was fighting, but for all the man's ability, Sasori didn't need to strike a death blow, a simple scratch would be enough to end the Sannin.

Chiyo, meanwhile, activated her **Kikou Junpuu** and used the chakra barrier to defend herself from the deadly needles that had assaulted her. As the shield was actually activated at her wrists, she was able to continue controlling her puppets which, while far stronger than Sasori's, were vastly outnumbered. Even with the number that Jiraiya had attracted, hers were still outnumbered a good six to one.

As the puppets and ninja battled around him with wires, blades, projectiles, etc., Sasori found himself away from personal attack for a moment. Glancing around at the situation around him, Sasori noticed some unexpected movement. Looking towards the source he found the pink-haired Konoha kunoichi standing over Kankuro. As the battle progressed, he had nearly forgotten about her given that she seemed content to stay out of the fight and the shinobi he was facing were far more dangerous than some little girl. Seeing her extract something from the wounded Jounin's body, he recognized the technique as a medical ninjutsu for removing poisons. However doubtful that this medic could counteract the effects of his poisons, Sasori simply couldn't allow her to interfere on this battle. Taking aim, he blasted the girl away from the injured Jounin with a jet of water. It was a shame really, but from this distance, his water pressure couldn't hold the water condensed enough to actually kill her.

Despite Sasori's complaint, the high-pressure stream of water tore the skin off her back as though it were rubbed with coarse sand paper. Biting back the cry of pain, Sakura managed to plant her hand and use her momentum to skid to her feet. Placing her hand behind her, she immediately began to heal her back so that it wouldn't protest her every movement. Skin knitting back together, Sakura jumped towards the puppet master. Kankuro was stable and out of danger, but his wound still required more care to be fully healed, and clearly the man before her wouldn't give her the opportunity.

Laughing to himself as the girl attempted to attack him, Sasori decided to simply end her now. Not only would it be merciful (she was far outclassed after all), but it would substantially lower the team's odds of surviving the encounter. As she closed the distance to within ten feet, a switch opened in his arm, revealing needle launcher which sent an assault of his poisoned needles at the girl. He was relatively surprised as she weaved around them, but grinned as a line opened up on her cheek. Stumbling the pink-haired girl collapsed at his feet, the poison already coursing through her system causing paralysis. Taking aim at the girl's temple, Sasori ignored the cries of the pair of older ninjas and summoned his chakra to the water jet scroll and fired it out his palm.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. Here we get to see more of some characters that haven't received any specific attention before now in the fic. This was actually fun, though difficult to write as the techniques used and fighting styles of the combatants are pretty different from those I've showcased before now. Hope you enjoyed it and sorry for the duo of cliffhanger's here. Not to worry, those will all be cleared up in the next chapter.

Since I _know_ that I'll be receiving complaints about how easily I had Tsunade defeat the Tsuchikage, I want to make note of that now. The Tsuchikage is _not_ week, nor is Tsunade that much (if at all) stronger than him. In this instance, blinded by his hatred, Tsunade got the drop on him. Even Orochimaru admits earlier in the series that taking a single blow from Tsunade could kill him, so landing that single blow was sufficient to defeat him. Again, the Tsuchikage is _very_ strong, and this will become evident later on. For anyone who recognized exactly who I modeled his bloodline after, this should be clear. As always, R&R-Good or bad, it helps me with this story.

Jutsu Library

**Geppou**- Moon Step (Rokushiki-Using his control over wind, Naruto forces the air below him to condense to the point at which he is able to spring from it as though it were a solid mass.)

**Suna shuriken**-Sand Shuriken

**Sabaku Fuyuu**-Desert Sand Floating

**Suna Eisou**-Sand Sharp Spear

**Sabaku Kyuu**-Desert Coffin

**Rasengan**-Spiral Sphere

**Doku Kiri Jigoku: Baribari Hyaku Renpatsu**-Poison Mist Hell: Hundred Continuous Tears

**Shirahigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shuu**-White Secret Technique: Ten Puppet Collection of Chikamatsu

**Ranji Shigumi no Jutsu**-Wild Lion's Mane Technique

**Hari Jizou**-Underworld Guardian Spikes

**Hari Jigoku**-Hell Needles

**Kikou Junpuu**-Light Shield Seal Mechanism


	27. Chapter 26: Victory and Defeat

A/N: With the posting of the last chapter, this story has passed the 100,000 hit mark. To celebrate this achievement, I worked hard and can gladly put out this chapter now. Thank you to everyone who read especially my dedicated readers and reviewers. (Quick thank you to Plus-44 who I mistook for 'anon' in last chapter.) For those of you who like the limited spelling and grammatical errors, you can all thank my beta, Leafy for all her hard work. Without further ado, here's the chapter

**Chapter 26**

Cursing his inability to hold the missing nin's attention while battling off the overwhelming numbers of puppets, Jiraiya raced as fast as he could trying desperately to reach the pink-haired medic in time. A testament to his ability, of the thirty puppets he was facing, only a handful remained while he was still completely unharmed. While it was questionable if he could traverse that distance in time in the best conditions, due to the remaining puppets which were now behind him launching attacks, Jiraiya had to maintain his **Hari Jizou **to keep himself safe from the poisoned projectiles, slowing his speed slightly. He could only yell out in an attempt to halt Sasori's attack.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as the beam of water fired from the tube, piercing effortlessly through the ground as Sakura rolled out of the way and flipped into a standing position. Well inside the man's guard, she planted her feet and launched a punch at their opponent. Though disbelievingly surprised by the previously doomed girl's sudden response, Sasori managed to bring up his arms to block. However, despite her petite frame, Sakura had picked up her mentor's freakish strength and the attack blasted Sasori's puppet body to pieces.

-----Flashback-----

_A couple minutes earlier._

_Wincing at the pain, Kankuro opened his eyes to Naruto's pink-haired teammate standing above him. Judging by the way his wound was closing rapidly, the girl had come a _long_ way from the fangirl he had seen participate in the Chuunin exams all those years ago. _

"_Are you awake Kankuro-san?" she asked, noticing the alert eyes of her patient. _

"_Yeah. In a lot of pain, and completely paralyzed, but awake". He said, his throat sore from having screamed so loudly upon receiving his injury. Instantly, he felt the pain lesson as Sakura added an anesthetic technique to the ones she was already using. _

"_The paralysis is a byproduct of the poison, I've already given you the antidote, but it'll take some time for it to clear from your system. I would just remove it, but first I have to stop the bleeding or you could bleed out. Either way, once it's out of your system, you'll regain your motor function very quickly." As she continued to work, an idea suddenly popped into her head. "Judging by Sasori's appearance, I'm assuming that puppets can be made by converting human bodies. Is that true?" Seeing Kankuro's slight nod-the effects of the poison already diminishing-she continued, "Can you attach chakra strings to and control a living person?"_

_Pondering the strange question momentarily, Kankuro nodded again. "It is possible. I've never actually done it, but heard of it being done before."_

_Leaning down close as the wound finally closed fully removing Kankuro's life from any danger, she whispered her plan into the Suna Jounin's ear. Eyes widening at the girl's daring, Kankuro readily agreed to help her. The plan was just crazy enough to work. Leaning down in a way to obstruct Kankuro's uninjured arm from the enemy before them, Sakura quickly isolated and removed the poison from Kankuro's system. Feeling the effects of the poison disappear, Kankuro quickly reached up and attached chakra strings to the medic nin's arms, legs, and torso before his energy gave out and his arm collapsed back to the ground-he had lost more blood than he thought. The action was just in time too as a jet of water sent Sakura sprawling away. _

_Wincing slightly at the extent of the damage, Kankuro readied himself-it wouldn't be long now. Inwardly, he couldn't help but laugh at Sakura's pathetic looking attempt at an attack, but dutifully immediately forced her arm up to cover the cut even as she collapsed at the missing nin's feet. It was now or never…_

'3…2…1…NOW!_' he thought, flexing his fingers so the girl twisted out of the way of the deadly jet of water. With a flick of the wrist, she was back on her feet, chakra-enhanced punch already swinging towards the puppet master. '_She removed that poison in an instant, that girl's something else._'_

------End Flashback-----

For a moment no one moved as Sasori's puppet army collapsed bonelessly around them. Chiyo, as an expert puppeteer herself, had noticed the chakra strings as Sakura had stood back up. Shocked by the girl's apparent plan, she found herself impressed with the pink-haired medic. '_Konoha shinobi are really something else._' she thought before sweatdropping as the girl closed her eyes and raised a peace sign towards her with a grin. Suddenly, however, her eyes widened as the shattered pieces of Sasori's body began to reform behind the girl.

As his body reformed, Sasori reactivated his chakra strings and launched the metal cable at the girl's unprotected and unsuspecting back. At that range, any warning would come far too late to save her.

Reacting purely on instinct as Sasori pieced himself together, Chiyo called out, "Kankuro!" as she commanded one of her remaining four puppets to release a formless glob from its mouth. Travelling at a rapid speed, the blob began to morph and take form into a giant, gaping maw-multilayered 'teeth' glistening.

Using the last of his strength, Kankuro quickly raised his arm, pulling Sakura out of the way of the incoming attack. Chiyo's attack no longer hidden by Sakura's form, Sasori's eyes widened as he noticed the attack moving towards him far too late to dodge. Metal teeth digging though his body, the attack pushed him back crashing into a wall as the seal on its back activated.

"It's over Sasori." said Chiyo, looking at the trapped figure before them as the red-cloaked puppets once again collapsed around them. "That sealing jutsu suppresses all chakra; you won't even be able to use a chakra string anymore."

"Looks like this is as far as I go." Sasori replied. Shaking his head in amusement, he continued, "It's a shame really, this is pretty embarrassing. How am I supposed to explain that I couldn't even kill a single one of you?"

"We can't let him go, a person like him is far too dangerous." Jiraiya said, walking up next to the others.

"Of course not, Jiraiya," Chiyo agreed, picking up one of the many discarded blades lying around. "I will end my line just as I swore to all those years ago."

"A true shinobi of the Sand, Grandma." Sasori said not even a note of fear etched on his face. "No feelings whatsoever, not even for your grandson. Before you do that, however, I'll do something for you. It may be somewhat selfish, but, think of it as a reward for defeating me. You Konoha shinobi want to know about Orochimaru, don't you?"

At these words, Sakura started while Jiraiya's face hardened. Stepping between Chiyo and the red-head, he asked, "What do you know?"

"I have what once was a spy amongst Orochimaru's subordinates. Though he's long since turned against me, I'm supposed to meet with him in ten days time. At noon on that day, be at the Tenchi Bridge in the Grass Village. If handled correctly, he should lead you right to the snake. I was intending to kill him myself, but as long as you take care of him when he's outlived his usefulness, it'll kill two birds with one stone." Sasori finished with a grin.

Making a mental note of the information, Jiraiya asked, "Is that all?" Seeing the missing nin nod, he stepped aside allowing the aged medic nin to run her blade through the only part of the man before them still human, the disk on the left half of his chest. Thus ended the life of one….

"Izumo?!"

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Ino crashed against the cold, hard floor. This was a dream, a nightmare, it just had to be. The last thing she remembered before she had passed out was staring up into those cerulean eyes. Eyes full of worry as they flicked over her battered form, but also of barely contained rage as the blonde halted the deathblow she had expected. Despite the pain, looking up at the boy standing protectively over her, she felt warm and safe. Unconsciousness had claimed her with a smile on her face.

The next time she awoke, however, there was nothing to smile about, at least for her. Standing over and grinning down at her shackled form, was none other than the snake Sannin, Orochimaru. "Welcome to my humble home Ino-chan." the man said, his tone as sweet as sugar, practically purring her name. "I do hope you like it, as it will be your home for some time. Who knows, if you give me exactly what I want, you may even get out of here alive." He added, licking her face lightly with his freakishly long tongue.

Turning her head in disgust, she wished she hadn't as she found herself staring into merciless red sharingan eyes. Terrified eyes pleading towards her first crush, Ino's already defeated spirits sank even further as her former comrade merely leered at her position.

"Kukuku." Orochimaru laughed. "See something you like Sasuke-kun?" Seeing his protégé's smile widen, Orochimaru turned back to the shackled girl. "Well, what do you say Ino-chan? Are you ready to show us all of your jutsu? Or shall I leave you to Sasuke-kun's ministrations?" Seeing the girl's silent defiance, the Sannin turned his back on the pair and walked out of the room. As he closed the door, the girl's pleas and screams were music to his ears.

Curling her body into a fetal position on the hard, stone floor, she took inventory of her injuries, trying desperately not to think about anything that occurred since she woke up. Though the life-threatening injuries she had received in her fight against Tenjin had been expertly healed, her broken arms and legs were left as they were and, if they weren't healed within the next couple weeks, could result in permanent injury when they begin to heal incorrectly. Of course, at the moment, these were the least of her worries. Sasuke had not been gentle as he 'welcomed' her to Orochimaru's base of operations. At first, she had struggled against her restraints, but that merely invited the young missing nin to filet her skin with a kunai. Only liberal use of smelling salts had kept her conscious until now, though if it were up to her, she would have remained blissfully unaware of what was happening.

Feeling her life blood run out of her, Ino wondered if she was really going to die tonight. But no, of course not…Orochimaru was not that merciful. Hearing the lock clang as it was opened, Ino didn't even have the strength to look to see who entered, let alone make any bid to escape.

Ignoring Kabuto's presence next to her, Karin stepped into the cell. Pushing her glasses up her nose, the redhead glared down at her patient. She had no pity towards the twitching figure on the ground, in fact, other than the injuries, she actually envied her. She fixed the chakra suppression device around the girl's chest, not even bothering to try to avoid the lacerations as the blonde screamed in pain. Honestly, she had no desire to help this girl. However, not daring to go against Orochimaru's orders, she kneeled down and pulled back her sleeve as she placed her arm, scarred with teeth marks, at the girls lips.

"Bite it." she commanded, gritting her teeth in preparation for the pain to come. Seeing the girl make no move to obey, she slapped the girl hard across the face before snarling, "Bite my arm, damnit."

Face stinging, Ino tentatively moved her mouth slightly and placed her teeth gently on the girl's arm, not having the energy to clamp down. Of course, that wasn't really an issue as the moment her teeth made contact with the marred skin, her jaw locked up and she found that she couldn't possibly pull away. As the redhead next to her screamed in agony, Ino's skin began to knit itself back together. Her condition no longer critical, she felt the arm wrenched from her grasp. Still weak from blood loss, Ino turned to face the panting medic next to her, her gaze questioning.

Seeing the prisoner's gaze, Karin's face immediately became stoic. Standing she looked down at the girl. Eyes running over the nasty red lines where the cuts still bled slightly, she smirked at the blonde. "Can't have you dying just yet, not until Orochimaru-sama gets what he wants. But, no one said you have to be fully healed. Give in or get used to pain. Welcome to hell."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room, Kabuto slamming the door behind them.

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Moving swiftly through the trees, the group of four leaf shinobi plus one sand Jounin and large dog followed Naruto's chakra trail. With his all-seeing eyes, Neji noticed the sand Jounin, apparently known as Yuura, shudder suddenly causing his body to tense and stumble. "Everything ok Yuura?" Neji asked, not even turning his head.

"Of course." came the reply as the man effortlessly righted himself.

Continuing in silence, not even Neji noticed the predatory glint is his eyes.

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"What does this mean?!" asked a terrified Sakura staring at the limp, lifeless form of her comrade. "Was Isumo attacking us under a **Henge**?"

"No," answered Chiyo. "Those techniques were clearly Sasori's, Konoha shinobi don't use puppets, and even the puppetmasters of Suna aren't nearly as capable as Sasori."

"It means," added Jiraiya clenching his fists, "that Sasori was never really here. We were fighting a mere shadow of the real thing." Eyes suddenly widening in realization, Jiraiya uttered, "Naruto!" before darting off into the trees in the direction that Neji and his group had gone. Putting the pieces together themselves, the others (Kankuro being embarrassedly carried by Sakura) following swiftly behind.

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Using his sand to intercept another large clay projectile, Gaara stared across the sky at his opponent. No longer riding a large clay bird, Deidara now stood atop an absolutely massive clay dragon. Though the explosives moved somewhat slower than before, the C-2 clay, as his opponent called it, appeared to be guided and packed a much larger punch. Despite the distance it occurred from him, as the winged explosive detonated, the recoil pushed him back slightly.

In the best conditions, the man before him would certainly be a difficult man to defeat; his 3D style of combat was difficult to attack for the vast majority of opponents. Even someone like Gaara who is able to take the battle into three dimensions himself, ends up using vast amounts of chakra to keep himself afloat. Deidara, though one wouldn't know it relies primarily on his clay creations' ability to glide and ride up on thermals to stay afloat, only using small amounts of chakra for evasive maneuvers if necessary. Battling over the water as they were, Gaara actually doubted his ability to defeat the man before him.

Trying to get close enough to attack (or at least make his opponent think twice about detonating an explosive) Gaara directed his **Sabaku Fuyuu** to rush towards Deidara. Seeing the tail of the monstrous explosive retract another notch from its tail, Gaara prepared himself for another assault. "Here comes the big one." Deidara said as a large, sort of pig-shaped winged clay fired from the mouth of the dragon. Surprised by the speed combined with the closer proximity, Gaara had no time to intercept or dodge. Automatically forming a **Suna no Mayu** around him, Gaara braced himself for impact. He was not, however, prepared for the destructive power of Deidara's attack, the force tearing apart his protection and launching him through the back wall. Hurt, but not defeated, Gaara instinctively called his sand underneath him again. Looking up, however, his eyes widened as he found another explosive already heading towards him, far too close to intercept.

"Did I get him?" Deidara asked no one in particular as the explosion began to clear.

Sand dripping from him, a very different, but very much alive Gaara glared up at the Akatsuki member with his golden eyes and diamond shaped pupil. No longer standing on a thick platform or sand, Gaara stood on a thin disk of sand only about 5 feet in diameter, the rest of the sand being used to cover his form in a miniature visage of Shukaku.

Despite his injured state, Gaara couldn't help but smile as he felt an approaching presence. "**You're late, Naruto**." he said in his deepened voice as the wind rushed passed him, the only announcement of his friend's arrival as the boy landed silently on the sand behind him.

"Where's Tenjin?"

"**I don't know. He disappeared in an explosion awhile back.**"

"How're you holding up Gaara?" he asked the chibi demon in front of him, completely unperturbed by the boy's appearance.

Taking a moment to size up the new arrival, Deidara recognized him immediately from the fight he had witnessed less than an hour ago. Despite the boy's obvious skill, Deidara wasn't particularly worried. After the match and chasing after them, even the blonde jinchuuriki had to be low on chakra. Checking his clay supply, Deidara readied his next move.

"**Not well. Staying in the air is rapidly burning through my chakra and the terrain is highly limiting my abilities. This guy, he's really strong.**" said Gaara, his eyes never leaving the dragon. Seeing the tail retract once again, he took a large inhalation of air. "**Futon: Renkudan**." he said, pounding his expanded stomach as the clay projectile was just leaving the dragon's mouth. The fast moving sphere of wind crashed into the pig-shaped explosive not ten feet from where it was launched causing the large explosion to encompass the head of the dragon.

Using the distraction the explosion created, Naruto created a shadow clone and had it drop down to the water's surface to prepare a jutsu from below. Of course, no sooner did the clone touch the water, did it get encompassed by an explosion.

"Kukuku." came Deidara's laugh as he appeared unharmed. Having noticed the incoming wind attack far too late to dodge, he simply skated down the neck and onto the back of his clay dragon, avoiding the blast. "My C-2 can box you in with land minds and lock on with guided air-to-ground or air-to-air. This is the beauty of my art. You have nowhere to run." In order to set up this combination, Deidara had escaped under water earlier when his bird's wings had been pierced by Gaara's sand spikes, leaving a **Nendo Bunshin** in his place.

"I have an idea how to deal with the mines." said Naruto. Still obscured by Gaara's demonic form, Naruto created another clone; this one again jumped to the lake below. Unlike the first, this clone immediately began flipping through hand seals. Channeling a large amount of chakra, just before reaching the water, the clone called out "**Sui-Fuuton: Gufuu Shuika no Jutsu**." Releasing the chakra, a massive tornado of water erupted from the water's surface, rushing into the air at the even larger dragon before the clone was destroyed by a mine as it touched the water's surface.

Trained eyes easily spotting the incoming torrent, Deidara easily directed his creation out of the attack's path. Leaping off the sand platform, Naruto once again used **Geppou **tomove about through the air. Hands forming seals, he gathered a large amount of his remaining chakra and called out "**Suiton: Dai Suiakuhei**." immediately darting back across the sky towards Gaara.

From the column of water, dozens of snakes burst forth, darting in all directions before contorting and launching towards Deidara and his clay dragon. Dodging the water snakes as best he could, the massive size of Deidara's C-2 dragon ended up being disastrous as the snakes trapped him within their 'bodies,' the heads doubling back to strike. The moment they did, the mines within the waters exploded, peppering the beast with explosions.

Predicting the dragon's demise, as the hydra heads assaulted the clay construct, Deidara placed his hands on the beast's back, the mouth on his hands forming another clay bird and, spiraling upwards, avoided the explosions. Watching the massive dragon, which now appeared to be a large, clay piece of Swiss cheese, crash into the waters and get consumed by the explosions of most of the mines remaining in the waters below, Deidara gritted his teeth. Despite his initial advantages, he was now low on both clay and chakra.

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Bursting through the edge of the trees, the tattered remains of Team Gai reached the waterline just in time to witness the explosions.

-----Flashback-----

_A short time earlier._

_Without warning, Yuura attacked the group. Though Neji's keen eyes caught the movement, he couldn't react in time to save Kiba's eye as the Jounin slashed the younger boy's face with a kunai. Reacting immediately to the attack, Akamaru dove for the Suna Jounin before he could press the assault._

_Flicked the kunai towards the turning Lee, Yuura dodged the large dog's snapping fangs and ferocious claw swipes and, activating __**Kaze no Yaiba**__ in his hand he sliced Akamaru from sternum to stomach, blood bursting forth from the wound._

_Lee, who easily dodged the kunai aimed a __**Konoha Senpuu **__for the traitor, but seeing the man aim the wind blade at him, was forced to twist and instead use __**Konoha Shoufuu**__ to kick the man's wrist upward avoiding the deadly winds._

_Jumping backwards, Yuura avoided a hail of weapons from Tenten but was blasted backwards by Neji's __**Hakke Kuushou**__. Not giving the man time to recover, Lee and Neji immediately jumped to engage him in close range combat as Tenten released more weapons._

_Over the next several minutes, Yuura demonstrated just why he was considered an elite Jounin of Sunagakure as he fought off the team engaging Lee in Taijutsu while he avoided Neji's Juuken and deflected or dodged Tenten's weapons. Ultimately though, despite inflicting damage with his wind and earth attacks, once Kiba joined the attack, he was pushed back. After an enraged Kiba managed to hit him with a __**Tsuuga**__, bruising his torso and shattering his clavicle, the man quickly blinded the team with a "__**Doton: Sables**__." tossed a collection of shuriken at their current locations and fled without even waiting to witness the results of his attack._

_Automatically moving despite having to shield their eyes, as the sand sliced at their bodies, peeling their skin off like course sand paper, none of the Konoha shinobi were seriously injured by the shuriken, only Tenten taking a glancing blow which slashed her left arm. As the sandstorm died down, the battered Konoha shinobi took stock of their situation. Neji's byakugan confirming the enemy's retreat, the group applied what medical aid they could: setting Lee's shoulder, bandaging Tenten's arm, disinfecting their raw, bleeding skin, and wrapping bandages around Kiba's ruined eye, before moving on, leaving Kiba behind to tend to Akamaru. _

_-----End Flashback-----_

Easily a mile away, the collections of explosions lit up the sky, the pressure it caused even reaching them. Using chakra to stay in place, they could only wait until the shockwaves passed. Jumping high over the massive, crashing waves the explosions caused, the group continued on hoping to find their allies alive.

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Landing back on Gaara's sand, Naruto was panting. His jutsus had accomplished their purpose, but now he was running on empty. In his weakened state, he couldn't risk tapping into Kyuubi's chakra as the beast's primal rage would overtake him almost instantly. "Gaara," he said as his friend keenly watched the skies for signs of their opponent's movements, "I've got maybe 10 percent of my chakra remaining, and I know you're running low yourself, we have to end this now."

"**The mines under the water are gone, yes?**" asked Gaara.

Sending a couple clones to the water below to investigate, Naruto affirmed their safety. Standing back-to-back with Gaara, Naruto noticed the approach of three figures on the waters below. "Shit, we have backup, but it's Team Gai, in a battle like this, I don't know how much they're going to be able to help." While Naruto's clones moved to intercept the group and catch them up on the enemy's abilities, Gaara lowered the sand platform. Sand receding from his feet, and the two jumped onto the water's surface in order to limit their chakra usage and meet up with the incoming Konoha shinobi.

Briefed on the situation, Team Gai landed next to the two Jinchuuriki. Looking up at the man circling above them, the group saw him grinning. Pulling out another stone sculpture the mouths in his hands channeled chakra to it, the thing growing larger than the bird he was standing on. Unfolding its wings revealed a large, fat, bird-like shape. "Allies are but a nuisance. I tire of this battle; I'll simply kill you all. This C-3 clay holds my strongest exploding power. I wonder how many of you can still protect yourselves, let alone each other, yeah." Deidara said, dropping the large bird towards the group.

"**Shit, we can't outrun that explosion. Naruto, give me a boost!**" cried out Gaara, immediately launching himself into the air.

Not even thinking to question his comrade, Naruto gathered his chakra and formed hand seals as quickly as possible before calling out, "**Fuuton: Reppushou**." extending a palm towards Gaara. Gale-force winds exploded from his palm, augmenting Gaara's jump pushing him high into the air.

Seeing their impending doom, Tenten instinctively moved next to Lee and grasped his hand. Smiling at the contact, Lee prayed that whatever Gaara's plan was would work.

Digging deep, Gaara screamed as he transformed fully into his full sized Shukaku form. Unfortunately, as he lacked anywhere close to sufficient sand, the tanuki's chakra was forced to create the sand, almost immediately burning through his chakra reserves. It should be noted that, despite Gaara's ability to control both sand and Shukaku's chakra, unless fully transforming, he was unable to actually create sand which prevented him from doing this earlier in the battle as he needed to stay airborne and conserve his strength. With his remaining strength, Gaara spun his massive form around and struck the falling clay doll with his tail. The effect was instantaneous as the creation detonated.

Riding the explosion upwards, Deidara squinted through the rushing wind to try to see the results of his attack. Despite his big words, he didn't actually want to kill the entire group. The jinchuuriki in particular were needed for their plan. As the smoke cleared, Deidara's smile widened.

There, lying across the waters were the unconscious forms of all five of his opponents. Despite Gaara's noble effort and success in detonating the attack as far from them as possible, as chakra exhaustion overcame him, unconsciousness overcame him and his sand form began to immediately disintegrate. Though his massive form did manage to shield the group from the brunt of the attack, the explosion tore through his dissipating sand, covering his back with nasty burns. Shockwaves tore through the sand, the concussive force sprawling the Konoha shinobi and knocking them out.

He didn't care about the three newest additions, whether they lived or died was no concern of his. But he did circle downward to claim his prizes. Noticing movement out of the corner of his eyes, he spun to use his clay bird as a shield as needles peppered the bottom. Rising again through the air, he searched for his attacker. Locking his eyes on the white haired old man who interrupted his victory, he bared his teeth in a snarl. Though he wouldn't necessarily give himself good odds on beating the Sannin at full strength, with his current level of exhaustion and lack of clay, the situation was hopeless.

'_Made it_.' thought Jiraiya breathing heavily as his hair returned to its normal length and density. He had run at his full tilt to catch up to the others, only pausing to check on Kiba and his injured familiar until Sakura and Chiyo caught up. Leaving the two medics to treat the injured, Jiraiya had once again raced towards his student's battle.

As the explosive notes Jiraiya propelled with his **Hari Jigoku** detonated on the bottom of the Deidara's vehicle, the missing nin took that as his key to leave, gliding away over the waters. Not taking his eyes off the Akatsuki member until he disappeared completely from sight, Jiraiya created a quartet of shadow clones and each picked up one of their unconscious allies before hurrying back towards the rest of the team.

* * *

A/N: And there's a good stopping point. For a change, it's not even a cliffhanger. I believe this is the longest chapter to date, but I did promise that I'd conclude each of those fights in this chapter. What'd you think? Though it gets tedious writing "And Deidara made his clay go BOOM," I think that Deidara for one is a character that never gets the recognition he deserves. Sasori as well is normally one of the first killed off Akatsuki members. Any of you predict that the Sasori they were fighting was simply a Shouten no Jutsu (Shape Changing Technique)? For those wondering, this is why Sasori didn't use the Sandaime Kazekage puppet for example. In fact, the 100 puppets the group was fighting wasn't even the same as the ones fought in the manga, that scroll he kept for himself. Sorry if you're disappointed in the conclusion of the fight, but here I really wanted to show that Naruto isn't invincible, but you can take comfort in the fact that he was already exhausted by the time he caught up. Next chapter will slow down a bit from the endless fighting before the meeting with Sasori's 'spy' commences. As always, please read and review.

**Jutsu Library**

**Hari Jizou**-Underworld Guardian Spikes

**Henge**-Transformation

**Sabaku Fuyuu**-Desert Sand Floating

**Suna no Mayu**-Cocoon of Sand

**Futon: Renkudan**-Wind Element: Drilling Air Projectile

**Nendo Bunshin**-Clay Clone

**Sui-Fuuton: Gufuu Shuika no Jutsu**-Water-Wind Element: Typhoon Water Vortex Technique

**Geppou**-Moon Step

**Suiton: Dai Suiakuhei**-Water Element: Great Water Hydra

**Kaze no Yaiba**-Blade of Wind

**Konoha Senpuu**-Leaf Whirlwind

**Konoha Shoufuu**-Leaf Rising Wind

**Hakke Kuushou**-Eight Divination Signs Air Palm

**Tsuuga**-Piercing Fang

**Doton: Sables**-Earth Element: Sandstorm

**Fuuton: Reppushou**-Wind Element: Gale Wind Palm

**Hari Jigoku**-Hell Needles


End file.
